


stars watched as they fell (and stood up again)

by WithYourRhythm



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And I am not even starting on Sasuke, But they are not safe with me, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Manipulation, Fix-It of Sorts, Guilt, I started to think about a plot after chapter 5, I would tag relationships, Lies, M/M, Multi, Naruto what have you done, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Raccoon summons, Sandaime better stocks his drinks, This fic crawls till at least 5th or 6th chapter, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Time to confess, bear with me please, so don't expect much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-05-19 03:37:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14865881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WithYourRhythm/pseuds/WithYourRhythm
Summary: To be clear, he never volunteered to join the "Got Their Ass Kicked By A Blonde Guy Who Was Screaming About A 'Sasuke' And Now Trying To Save The World As A Redeemed Former Evil" group.He would like to go back to his room now, thank you so much.





	1. the first time it fell apart

**Author's Note:**

> So I just wanted to point out that English is not my main language and this work is not beta-ed, so there are going to be so many mistakes that it's not even funny. And this is my first English story, also first time travel fic and first work on AO3, hell even first Naruto fic. So if you spot a plot hole, any spelling mistakes or anything just let me know or don't think about it, idk which works for you. 
> 
> And I wanna add that I didn't finish the manga or anime in any way, I know the plot from social media, fanfics and so on but I didn't finish it so there will be parts that I thought will fit in the plot better or some OCness(sorry for that) but this is an AU so that is that.
> 
> And I'm not really sure about the timeline of Naruto just like everyone else, so if there is something that doesn't fit, sorry but like I said, AU.
> 
> Plus I have no update schedule. I might decide to not post for even a few months and just write the chapters. I have no idea where this story going either. I'm a disaster. But if you have any questions, just shoot. I'm gonna try to make it understandable.
> 
> So enjoy~

To be clear, he never volunteered to join the "Got Their Ass Kicked By A Blonde Guy Who Was Screaming About A 'Sasuke' And Now Trying To Save The World As A Redeemed Former Evil" group.

 

Literally, it made no sense. He just wanted to have a meal and now here he was.

 

It somehow started when one day he woke up at his room at the inn, got hungry and went to hunting (because he had no money for food, he was staying at an inn because he saved the owner's daughter from the bandits that kidnapped her- coincidence, really), somehow got adopted by a snake, was abandoned, and then got adopted again by a formerly dead Uchiha who was acting like another formerly dead Uchiha, was asked to help him, accepted the offer and played the bait to lure a Jinchuuriki to an ambush and so on, which means it was not a surprise when suddenly he was just there, getting his ass kicked by a short angry blonde who was screaming about a 'Sasuke' and somehow getting adopted  _again_  by an Uzumaki who was Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune.

 

He would like to go back to his room now, thank you so much.

 

\---

 

The Uzumaki Clan were known for their longevity, monstrous chakra reserves, red hair, Uzu-no-Kuni-sized weirdness and all, but most importantly, their Fuuinjutsu skills.

 

It was their Fuuinjutsu skills that brought them their destruction. It was their ability to turn a shinobi's own body, chakra, affinity, bloodline, their own _home_ against them. The rumors of a seal that took the ability to mold chakra from the person _permanently_ was the reason they no longer existed. Not even one child, civilian or shinobi was alive at there now, and it was _empty_.

 

Ashura often wondered, was it their own fault? So he'd think of his bright mother, who was full of love and laughter, who always had a candy in her bag for her youngest son (because Kaede had a terrible sweet-tooth), and a hair clip for her oldest son (Ashura kept his hair long just like his mother). His father, graceful and steady, the real mom of the family, preparing his children lunch for them to eat at missions, fussing about their clothes and hair, never forgetting to leave a kiss on their forehead (which they always tried to escape on surface but searched for every night before they went to sleep).

 

He never really thought about his brothers, never let himself to do so, because it was his own fault that they died. But sometimes their memories would worm their way into his mind and Ashura would see them, their love and their anger and their horror, and he couldn't- he never got any sleep that days.

 

He would think of the kind lady from ramen stand who always patted his head, ~~who was a part of the people that were burned alive in that attack~~ , the shinobi that gave him a senbon and told him that he would look cool with it, ~~he never learned how he died, and Ashura hated himself for it~~ , the little boy who always talked about how one day he would be as tall as Ashura even though Ashura wasn't that tall,  ~~a building fell on top of him~~ , the kunoichi with her wife, always smiling and wishing a good day to him, ~~the kunoichi died for her wife, taking a kunai that was meant for her wife, and her wife died because she refused to leave the kunoichi to die alone in the hands of enemy~~ , the old man with his mischievous smile and his never ending inappropriate jokes about Ashura in a bed even though he always got a scoff or a slap from his wife because of it, ~~his wife died while helping other people to get away from enemy, and after his wife's death the old man took the tantō out of his wife's body and tried to kill the shinobi who took his wife's life, he didn't manage it~~.

 

(Ashura knew about death well, really well. But not just because he witnessed it with his eyes, because he saw it coming for himself -from other people's eyes though-. He used the seal he created to view people's last memories with their DNA -just a drop of blood, and he would see the last thing they saw while they had that blood-. He watched every death of his people from their point of view, because every single one of their memories were written in their very core, DNA. Years after that Massacre, he went back and dug up the bones -there wasn't bodies anymore, only bones and weapons of his people- and after watching every single death, he buried them -this was his punishment for himself-.)

 

With the ghosts of his people in his mind, he could never find it in himself to blame them. But he needed something to blame, _someone_ to blame, or he would go crazy in his loop of _**deathghostsgonescreamblood -helphelpthemgorun**_ and _**noalreadygonecouldn'tsavewasn'tstrongenough**_.

 

He almost decided to blame Kiri and Iwa, so he hated them, he despised them, wanted their blood and their tears and their horror-

 

No. His mother smiling at him, telling him that hate brought hate and it brought more hate, his father frowning at the mention of revenge for a loved one on the mouth of a lonely farmer, his second little brother crying because his first little brother told him that he hated a cat for killing the magpie he always fed and loved. Some things were never forgotten, because forgetting them was unacceptable but some things were destined to be forgotten, because remembering them made everything worse.

 

So he wouldn't blame them. He wouldn't blame the sword, _their fear of Uzushio's Fuuinjutsu and longevity and strength and just them_ , wouldn't blame the victims, _his people, his family, his home_ , wouldn't blame the hand that hold the sword, _Kiri and Iwa_.

 

He couldn't hold on, he needed someone, something, _anything_ but had nothing. So he drifted across the nations, looking for just anything, alone and empty. He never tried to survive, but never tried to die either. He just walked and watched and ~~escaped~~.

 

Then one day he saw a crying girl on the ground, kneeling with a few bandits around her, looking at her eyes which are full of ugly terror, and he saw another woman. Kind, happy but terrifying in the battle, face dirty with blood, dirt and sweat but smiling while looking at him, telling him not to worry and that it is over now, that it is not his fault.

 

When Ashura opened his eyes again, he saw another battlefield. Not that much blood, not full of fear and screams, air is not heavy with the scent of blood, urine and tears enough, and definitely not that many of bodies but a version of it. It made his heart bleed, because he was the one who created that scene.

 

But the girl he saved hugged him, thanked him and when she learned that he had no money or a bed to sleep, she gave him a place to stay for the night. So Ashura swallowed the words that almost came out of his mouth and let her took him to her father's inn.

 

Next morning he went out, not wanting to keep the girl and her father from earning money or eating their food which they bought with their own money. He was hungry, so he decided to hunt his meal. Instead, he met with a snake summon. _Kōraru_ , she called herself, _summon of a Sannin_. When he told her about his travels, she told him about her summoner, _Orochimaru_ , and how he sometimes helped people. How he helped some people to cross the borders without inspection, and how he let some people to stay within the walls of Otogakure. She told him that her summoner made so many bad choices and kept making them, but he did many goods too, just little ones (little to other people, but big to the six-year-old orphan, who was everything but adopted by Orochimaru. But Kōraru said that if anyone ever asked her summoner about the kid, he would deny it forever and probably kill the one who asked too.).

 

She told him that he sounded lonely, _looked_ lonely and maybe her summoner could help him too. Ashura hesitated, but she was right, he was alone. So he got up and told her to take him to her summoner.

 

(Later, Ashura would realize that the meeting with Kōraru was too much of a coincidence.)

 

Kōraru gave him the name of a place, gave him a date and time and told him to be there. Then with a white smoke, she was gone.

 

He walked and kept going, so after a while, at a specific date and place, he was waiting. He met with Orochimaru and went to Otogakure. He taught him about Fuuinjutsu, not the clan secrets but a few things. Then, Orochimaru asked him to give DNA samples. Ashura never left any, he made sure with a seal that burned any of his DNA which was out-of-body within the time limit of 2 minutes (In Uzushio, it was kinda like a law to have it if you even had a drop of Uzumaki blood, because there was always those people who were after the Uzumaki longevity. And removing the seal meant that they were no longer a part of the Clan, or even that there was a new Uzu missing-nin). Unless he didn't deactivate his seal which was on his upper arm, there was no way someone could get his DNA without his knowledge -unless they knew fuuinjutsu, but there wasn't any Uzu-level Seal Master alive except him, not anymore-.

 

Ashura refused. He couldn't find it in himself to give any part of his DNA to anyone, it was one of the teachings in Academy to  _never trust an outsider enough to give them your clan secrets, no matter what_. After his answer, Orochimaru became distant, he never searched for Ashura to talk about anything or simply having a meal. So Ashura realized that Orochimaru didn't see him, he saw an Uzumaki. He remembered the first time he met with Kōraru, when she told him how her summoner was searching for immortality.

 

So one night he quietly disappeared, as alone as always, to keep searching for anything because he didn't like what he found this time.

 

(It was such a luck that he left that night, because Orochimaru planned to attack Ashura next day. He planned to cut Ashura's arm off -that would work, Ashura told him so, though he didn't think that Orochimaru was planning to do so-.)

 

He traveled again and saw so many beautiful and terrible things, all happening in the same world. Then the rumors started. How the Wave Country escaped from a dictator, how some normal Chuunin Exam went out of control, and the attempts on kidnapping jinchuuriki, being _successful_  at that. _The Akatsuki_ , shinobi whispered, _The Kazekage is gone_. Then  _he's alive_ ,  _now what?_

 

He went to the cave he found near Ame and stayed there. Sometimes went out for a few hours but stayed away from other humans, hunted for food, bathed in cold water, spend time with his seal project that he spent years studying it after the fall of Uzushio.

 

He met with another person while hunting.

 

The second that person saw him, he said that he had those eyes too. Told him all about the deaths and agony and how he wanted to end people's suffering hysterically, like he couldn't stop talking after years of silence. Told him that he had a dream, where nothing was real but everybody was alive and happy and there was no war. He would make sure that no one else would have those eyes again. Then suddenly he asked Ashura to help him.

 

Ashura knew that the man probably knew he was an Uzumaki, and wanted to use him. But he could feel the man's chakra, so murderous and desperate, powerful. Ashura didn't have any choice at that matter but if he went willingly, then the man would do no harm. So he agreed. It wasn't like he wanted anything to do with that dream, he just wanted to live and remember those worth remembering, because he was the last one to do so. And he wanted that terrible silence to go away too, just like his time at Otogakure. So he said yes, but asked him to tell him the truth (Ashura would know if the man lied. He enchanted his senses with seals, he could hear his heartbeat, he could smell sweat, and could see every twitch of his body). He had enough lie for a lifetime, from Orochimaru, and from his ex-lover Kama, **~~he killed but didn't have any blood on him, he lied and let them die, he helped Iwa and Kiri, he betrayed, lied, liarliarliarliar- _just like him._~~**

 

The man hesitated (as if he knew about his seals), and then he told his name to Ashura, _Uchiha Obito_ , but asked him to call him Tobi, because it was necessary for his plan.

 

Ashura nodded and kept quiet. They went and talked about Akatsuki and their goal while walking but after a while, Ashura just couldn't stand it anymore, he couldn't listen about a world where his people was alive with the way their bodies were carved in his mind. So he asked about Uchiha Obito, not Tobi. He watched as Obito hesitated again, and Ashura started telling him about Uzushio. He told him all about the scary women who sold fruits and vegetables, and how she always gave him a handful of blueberries after a wink and with a smirk started yelling about how he stole those berries from her.

 

Obito giggled. He stopped a few moments later, but he giggled. When he stopped, he seemed surprised that he even managed a smile. Ashura gave him a small, sad smile that was hardly there (all of his smiles were like that after that... _Massacre_.) and asked if he ever met a lady like that (even though nobody was like her, nobody was like his people because they were ~~_his_~~ ). Obito looked at the sky, and told him about a cute old lady with a cat that always tried to cross the street at morning for her grocery shopping. Obito always helped her, and got late for his meetings but the lady smiled and thanked him for helping her every single time, so he kept helping her anyway.

 

After a while though, Obito put a mask on his face, put a mask on his own self, and became 'Tobi'. They went to the Akatsuki base and Ashura stayed there. He talked with some members, never at the same time (they had missions, and even when there were no missions they usually stayed out with their partner for rumors and just to be outside of the base). He helped some of them about a few things, they gave their opinions on his projects about jutsus and seals (never telling them how or why, just a little part, because this was his and his Clan's, not for outsiders, _never_ for outsiders) and time just passed. Some members never came back, some didn't talk, some didn't care about him.

 

Ashura listened and learned. He silently learned some good tricks about puppetry, or swordsmanship, or just learned about new jutsus that he had never even heard of. Not everything, but he stuffed one or two tricks up his sleeve alongside with some information. After a while, he met with Madara just like he met with Tobi and Obito. He kept his mouth shut and observed.

 

He learned one or two things about members and their past. There was too many holes in the story of theirs that Ashura had, but it didn't matter.

 

He heard about Jinchuuriki and how they got the Ichibi. Then he heard about Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi and list went on. He never went outside, scared of what he might find, so he silently watched. Till the Nanabi, it went on, and then Pein went outside.

 

He didn't come back either.

 

_(Ashura wasn't sure if an Uzumaki was there, he never realized it properly, but he didn't have any right to search for a family after the things he had done.)_

 

And after the jinchuuriki of the eight tails tricked Team Taka, Obito looked so angry about the way things had gone, yelling and whispering and murmuring about Madara, Zetsu and Eye Of The Moon plan while Ashura watched him from corner without moving, always there but not. And the second Obito weared such a hateful look that it broke his already shattered heart, he took a step forward. He told Obito that his time had come, and that he will help him now, _~~himhimhim not that crazy plan or Zetsu or Akatsuki just Obito who helped an old little lady cross the road for groceries~~_.

 

He left the hideout and started walking. _Just like old days_ , he mused, alone and shattered and empty but searching. He went to Hi no Kuni, and summoned his fastest summon. The little raccoon looked at him, so Ashura sat on the grass and lifted him to his lap while whispering his message to his ears, then where he should go.

 

The raccoon went and time passed again. After a few days, he spotted some people. A short blonde was running on the front, his chakra painfully bright, joyful and full of wonder.

 

Ashura knew what they thought, an Uzumaki, escaped from the labs of Orochimaru and seeking shelter but afraid to go to them, so just telling his relative about himself and some information about the Akatsuki he heard from Orochimaru. _Very_ suspicious, but the summon changes the way they think, because raccoon summoning scroll belongs to Uzumaki Clan with the fox summoning scroll, passed through generations and the raccoon and fox summons had never accepted a summoner with bad intent against the Kyuubi or the world and it's balance just like they never accepted a summoner outside of Uzumaki Clan.

 

So here they were, a short blonde (with that chakra, definitely the Uzumaki and Jinchuuriki), a pink head, a female Yamanaka (probably to see if he is honest about his intentions), a dark haired pale boy, a silver haired man (with a trace of Obito's chakra in his body, copy-nin Hatake Kakashi?) and a man with such a chakra that screamed of woods and plants and life (such a chakra that literally made his heart miss a beat).

 

After the attack on Konoha, it was surprising that they really let the Jinchuuriki to come, but he did say on his message that he wouldn't talk with anyone else for that matter, and that he knew the sealing that was used on extracting the Bijuu.

 

It was a big risk for them to letting their Jinchuuriki leave, even though the place Ashura waited was only hours away, and to send powerful shinobi with Jinchuuriki after an attack that kinda destroyed the village, it was so hopeful that it was foolish. Or that somehow the Jinchuuriki escaped at night and the others followed him with his plan because he didn't give up (and if they won't let him see Ashura, he would escape again to meet his only remaining living family the second they turned their back but nobody had to know about _that_ ).

 

After that things happened very quickly. They got trapped in the seal Ashura lay out before, only those with big chakra reserves managing to escape (copy-nin, mokuton user and Jinchuuriki), Ashura attacked them to keep them occupied till Obito could be ready for the plan, and the blonde screamed from top of his lung about what is going on.

 

Only after Ashura managed to get copy-nin to use enough chakra for him to be trapped in his seal too and knocking out the mokuton user, the jinchuuriki became angry. It wasn't about the fight or anything, really. It was Team Taka. Ashura could guess that Obito sent them as back-up but the second blonde saw that black haired asshole who always had a straight face, he went crazy.

 

The second Ashura saw the four tails that were swinging across blonde's back, he used the containment seal he laid across the clearing two days ago to make sure Team Taka didn't get in.

 

With using Kyuubi's power against Ashura who was already tired-kinda but not really- the blonde managed to beat him purple and blue, made him see the light, became good or whatever one could have call it, so after all the words and feelings the blonde talked about took its effect, he just broke down. Not crying and screaming type, but his mind and heart that was already shattered crumbled to dust and became something different, something beautiful and meaningful. He let the seal fade, and kneeled in front of the jinchuuriki. He let out a quiet apologize, then it somehow turned into desperate begging, begging to be forgiven.

 

The blonde just kneeled with him and hugged him.  _I am here now_ _,_ he said,  _and you are here too. And even though it's a little late, that's how the things were supposed to be. We are family, y'know. The **best** family._

 

But then Obito was there, he was there and attacking and Ashura tried to stop him and  **no n _o it's_** _ha **p**_ _ **pen** ing_  **ag** **a** _i **n st**_o _ **p**_ _ ~~i **t!**~~_ ~~~~ ~~~~

After all, Ashura was on the ground with countless cuts, a few broken ribs and bones and a really bad concussion, the Jinchuuriki _(he couldn't think about the word **family** , even though how strange but warm it made him feel, because thinking that slumped form as family made him **remember** )_ was captured, copy-nin was knocked out, mokuton user was dead, black haired boy was missing his arms, pink haired girl had a broken leg and chakra exhaustion, the Yamanaka was dead too.

 

So Ashura had enough. While Obito looked into his eyes with such a betrayed expression, he just decided that the time had come for real this time, and his concussion just made him believe it much more. Not stopping to calm Obito down, or not to lie himself about the time will never come, Ashura just attacked one last time, and when Obito used Kamui, he used the biggest seal he had ever done, sealed away in the storage seal painted across his back. For a second, he felt a blade against his chest, sliding in and drawing blood, pain sparking in his mind, then everything stretched. The time stretched and strained, almost teared out, then turned and folded in itself, then it ended.

 

He got his second chance.


	2. as the blood thickened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Ashura never forgot.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the timeline is much more fucked than I thought, so fuck it. I'm going in blind with what I have at hand, and others are all on me.
> 
> (And to be honest, I just decided on the pairing -not really, I mean I chose 2 pairings between all for Ashura, but I'm not really sure which one to write in the end. So it turns out that I am more crazy than I thought and I just had to drag you with me. Sandaime better starts to stocking his drinks.)
> 
> (And still, no update schedule. Like I said, I am a mess. Let me die in peace.)

_Seals are so funny. They're just some paintings,_  Ashura used to say.

 

 _Your hair is what is funny, you little monster_ _,_ the reply would come from his sensei without missing a beat.  _They are not paintings. They are powerful, just like all the other tools of shinobi. Though, seals can only contain and carry, that's all. It's our imagination that what makes it 'funny'. We think, we work and we create. That's what we do. Uzushio became what it is just like that. So don't you dare to give up on this. This is our legacy and it's your fate to shoulder it._

 

Ashura never really understood what he meant with that. After all, a legacy was just a burden to him. They expected him to follow their ways. But after years, after all those memories, he learned, and he could never forgot what it really meant again. Now, it was deeply buried into his soul, his mind.  _Our legacy will_ _help you through anything. It is ours. Protect and don't forget._

 

Uzushiogakure was beautiful. His village was so beautiful, but rotten. It was slowly crumbling, becoming black. Ashura didn't know what was supposed to happen, Uzushio was a hidden village after all. All that beauty and happiness hid a monster, it was the way of things.

 

A civil war, that is what it could be called if Uzu was even a little larger. The Sandaime Uzukage was a nice woman. She always walked among her people and talked to them. She never wanted a place at war. Her power didn't destroy homes. No, she was a healer. Not a medic-nin, because in Uzushio rarely someone had enough chakra control to use that kind of technique, but a Seal Master-kind-of healer.

 

She created lots of healing-based seal and saved so many lives with them. Her main power came from a seal which accelerated renewal at cellular level without aging the cells. But just like all the other Seal Masters, she knew how to take back what she did. Even though she was rarely seen on the battlefield, any of her enemies died painfully. She wouldn't show mercy to them, she was a kunoichi of Uzu.

 

But it wasn't enough. She wasn't strong enough with her healing-based attacks and seals, she wasn't capable of surviving of the invasion. She just healed the injured people at the beginning. But then, when the fight came to her, she died. Ashura would say that it was a shame but it would be a lie. Because Ashura killed her himself.

 

She was a blood-traitor - _ ~~not that Ashura had any right to talk about traitors, but still~~_. She didn't become Uzukage with traditional ways. She assassinated the Nidaime, her father, while tending his injuries from an attack. She was a criminal.

 

Nobody stood against her openly because the council approved her.

 

(Ashura just knew that the one who planned this was one of them.)

 

So the people of Uzushio stayed silent in the sunlight. But when the night came, it brought the angered whispers and narrowed eyes. They wanted an Uzukage who would understand the legacy of Uzu no Kuni, a true shinobi of Uzu who could carry the legacy on to the younger generations.

 

So they searched. They talked with jounin, with chuunin and genin, even civilians. In the end, they found what they were looking at the Academy. _Our Uzukage_ _,_ they whispered about Kama, _our leader._

 

Though, in the end, Kama was the one who allied with enemies. He helped them to pass through the seals, the walls. He was the one who killed so many, who had blood of the people of Uzu on his hands but didn't even have a drop of blood on his hands at the same time.

 

Blood-traitor, they were called.

 

(Ashura knew that he was a blood-traitor too. His people forgave him, but he never forgave himself anyway. In the end, their Sandaime was a blood-traitor, their Yondaime-to-be was a blood-traitor, their Yondaime-who-ruled-a-day was a blood-traitor.

 

Ashura never forgot.)

 

\--

 

_Willow tree, rose, long gone blood, chrysanthemums and asphodel, with a hint of hyacinth and ocean._

 

Ashura knew that scent. He knew it so well that sometimes he wished he didn't. It was the smell of mourning for him, years filled with dried tears and long gone ghosts' whispers.

 

He opened his eyes. The stars were there, blinking, bright in the darkness of night. "Oh." Slowly turning his eyes to his left, he just stopped, " _Oh._ "

 

Graves. Hundreds of them. Different flowers on every single one, _dark crimson, red and dried white rose, wormwood, rue,_ _white, red and yellow chrysanthemums, asphodel, eglantine rose, purple hyacint, rainflower, orchid..._

 

He remembered planting all of them, creating new seals and burying with them to make sure they could grow even though they weren't in their habitat. Then another seal for the safety of the sealing papers and ink, so they wouldn't tear apart, get wet or anything.

 

He pushed himself off the ground, took a deep breath and tried to think without breaking down. _M_ _y brothers and I escaped from Uzushio and when it was all over and my brothers were dead, I buried them. But how many years after the Destruction of Uzushio?_

 

Ashura took a step towards graves.  _Uzumaki Naruto isn't here yet. His parents... Kushina-chan._ Another step.  _She went to Konoha at, what, ten? My brothers and I ran and hid for two years, maybe three. Then-_ he took one more step and looked at the grave at his feet.  _A few years of being captive. Torture for fuuinjutsu and Uzumaki babies to be tools. No longer than three years, I'm sure. After escaping, I came back here and buried my people. I think it took around two years. So Kushina-chan is 17 years old, or at least close to-_  

 

He kneeled. A choked noise climbed up from his throat, "I am sorry. So, so sorry, please- please." He bowed, his head touching to the ground, begging forgiveness. "I made the wrong choice a second time. Forgive me."

 

There was no response. There never was, but when did this stopped Ashura from asking forgiveness?

 

So he spent the next 2 hours kneeling in front of the graves of his loved ones, apologizing and begging for forgiveness. Because he killed his family again even though they weren't dead anymore, because they weren't alive either.

 

 _What have I done?_ He looked at the sky and asked to the stars,  _what did I do, what am I going to do?_

 

_What did I give up on?_

 

He could feel it in his body, his mind, forever gone and empty. His soul missed pieces, making him feel cold and half, there but  _not_.

 

What was the price of bending dimensions, twisting time and altering the future? A massive amount of chakra, that's for sure. But he had almost three hundred chakra accumulated seals in his storage seal which was at his wrist. It was more than enough, considering the fact that he was an Uzumaki, and he always stored his chakra when he wasn't using it.

 

No, chakra wasn't the problem. It was his soul. Ashura knew that he had to use something powerful enough to shatter the past, unbending enough to defy all the rules. So he did. His life force burned bright and warm, more than any other person's who wasn't a true Uzumaki.

 

He couldn't live so long, after all. He didn't know how old he was, he never did. Before using The Seal, he was around fifty. It was not that much for an Uzumaki, the civilians in his clan lived long enough to see a hundred and still worked as farmers, looking young enough to be called as middle-aged. Now, Ashura maybe had another thirty years, but he couldn't live through fifty, sixty at best.

 

That was, if he didn't die because of other ninjas. Fights with A-ranks and S-ranks were no joke after all.

 

His people believed that their blood was important. Because their ancestors mated with creatures that belonged to earth and water, spirits, forever hidden in the nature.  _Nymphs,_ Ashura's second youngest brother used to tell with awe,  _mom said so_. 

 

Most people believed that their blood and the abilities it gave them was the Legacy. Long ago, when Ashura often wandered around to search for friends and sat on his father's lap, he believed it too.

 

He learned better now. A lesson that is not going to be forgotten. The Legacy of Uzu didn't lie in his bloodline, it laid in his very core, soul. 

 

( _This is us,_ his sensei murmured at a mission while they were preparing to spend the night at the woods,  _raw and ragged-edged, made from will, chakra and life force. Such a wonder, the Uzumaki are._ A wistful smile tugged at his lips.  _Who knows?_ )

 

(He always saw someone in Ashura. Not just a shadow of an important Clan, not the bastard Uzumaki, but  _someone_ and Ashura loved him dearly for it.)

 

(He died with Ashura's name on his lips.)

 

(His grave had cyclamens.)

 

\---

 

"-was magical! Like hundreds of them, running towards to the ocean- man, I don't even know where they came from. The forest? It's not that big!" The fisher took a deep breath and blinked dreamily.

 

His companion rolled her eyes and swung her glass, "That is bullshit. Stop spreading your idiocy, Takashi."

 

"What? No! It was real, I swear-"

 

Ashura finished his drink. He put a few bills on his table and silently got up. The rumors were spreading, but he didn't think it would become a problem. After all, nobody cared about animals that much.

 

Well, except Madara. He cared about everything. He listened every single thing because any of them could help or disturb his plans. That was how he got what he wanted, so Ashura knew that he had to be more careful.

 

(It still felt weird. He felt like it was all a dream. To be not worried about Orochimaru and Obito and Jinchuuriki attempting an attack but only Madara was almost unnatural. He just couldn't understand the consequences of his actions yet.)

 

 As he walked down the road, he felt a familiar pull at his chakra. Without missing a beat, he let a water clone take his place and ducked towards an empty looking alley.

 

There was a white smoke and, "What the hell did you do?"

 

Ashura croaked a small smile, "Hello to you too, Umō." The raccoon swiped his tail, "Do you know what you did? You bent the time! For the last time, Aka Baka,  _stop messing with the time_."

 

"But this is the first time I messed with time!" Ashura frowned, "Well, my teleportation seals does not count."

 

Umō's claws dug into his hand, "I am serious. The snow leopards sent us a message about plants watching them, and Chōkaku heard from Urusai that here was a literally-white-guy roaming around our forest, trying to get in," Umō stretched, "but we all know that he can't, nobody knows how to pass those seals except, well, you now. So please do tell, what the hell did you do?"

 

Ashura closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

 

_Always count to ten, Chibi. Who knows what your big mouth can bring to you!_

 

_One, two, three, four-_

 

"Don't worry about that, Umō. Right now, I need you to tell Dorobō that I want him to go to Mountain's Graveyard and learn if those who are there knows that there is an Uzumaki running around. And-" He stumbled around words, "And tell him that the information is not important enough to die for. So if he tries to die on me for this, I'll- I'll give his food stash to Urusai."

 

Umō visibly softened. He rubbed his tail around his arm and jumped down, "Don't worry, he has been stocking that stash for sixty years, he's not gonna lose it now." He ran towards the end of the alley, "and we'll win this war. You know how good we are at stealing other's success."

 

Ashura choked a little, "I know, you damn food-thief."

 

There was another white smoke, and Ashura let his seal take him to his clone. The clone disappeared in an instant and dispelled itself at the alley. In his old place at the street, Ashura was there, walking down the street again.

 

He pulled his now brown hair a little. Red hair was too much of a giveaway -he knew this very well, because it was one of the reasons why he and his brothers got caught in an ambush in the first place- so he had to use a seal he modified which was taught at academy for espionage missions. He didn't use henge. Even though there wasn't many sensors, he didn't dare to risk it.

 

So here he was, a brown haired, red-eyed pale man with an average height. He was from Ta no Kuni, his name was Haru and he was a part of Fūma Clan. As far as he knew, the clan had been split into two factions and some of their most powerful members had joined Orochimaru in his time. The other faction had been involved in criminal activity and were considered traitors by the rest of the clan. But before Orochimaru, the Clan wasn't close to each other anyway, so it would make sense if the other clan members didn't recognize him.

 

There wasn't much to do anyway. Nobody would suspect of an Uzumaki, at worst they would think that he was a spy, so he didn't have to be nervous.

 

(He was nervous. He has been since he left the graves, gathered what he had, checked the seals that kept Uzushio's rubble away from the Elemental Nations and left Uzu no Kuni. He thought he had to start from somewhere. But now, he wasn't so sure if this was a good idea.)

 

The Land of Waves wasn't that far. It was doing good, there wasn't any dictator or thugs hired by them. There was some bandit activity and missing-nin but the country was nothing like how it was when Gatō settled there. There wasn't any bridge named Great Naruto Bridge. In fact, there wasn't a bridge at all. Wave Country had been taking care of itself, and they were good at that too.

 

Ashura didn't specifically liked the country but- it's people had oceans in their heart. He could feel it, a part of their souls were affected by the same ancestors Ashura had. Maybe long ago, there had been nature spirits living in the country, and spending time with them should have an effect on people.

 

Not that he could say that to the residents of the Wave Country. Many thought it was ridiculous, most of them had told him that the nature spirits were just a bedtime story for children.

 

Ashura knew better.

 

He could always feel the nature's call, how earth shivered with his touch, how air whispered songs for him, how water always seemed to flow towards him.

 

His mother used to tell stories to him. He remembered all of them, not because it was his mother who told him, but something always pushed him to listen. There was a voice in his head, telling him to _listen, listen because this is you and your world, this is you and your blood and you will answer it when it calls for you_ , but it wasn't a voice at all. Ashura knew it.

 

Long ago, there were gods. They walked and talked on this very earth, their power rippled the same air. But then they were tired. So tired, so away from everything, and they slowly faded. But nature spirits kept believing them, whispered them to sleep and rest for the day when they would come back to walk on the earth again. They gave them offerings, signed songs to them, they never gave up on their dreams of gods, they wished to walk among them again. And gods gave them powers, for their loyalty, they were worthy of it.

 

Then humans came. They came and walked on the same earth, not realizing who had walked,  _what_ had walked on the very same earth. They didn't knew about the gods, but they had seen nature spirits, so they worshiped them. They found, built, then fought, bleed, killed and loved for them.

 

Some of the nature spirits had seen this and fallen in love for them, for their ability to feel and affect, and maybe for their ignorance too. So some of the spirits chose a few of humans and gave those who they chose a gift, just like gods had done to them.

 

Not chakra, but blood. Bloodlines, abilities, unnatural awareness and long life. But nature spirits were no god, their gifts faded with generations, their blood changed places with human blood.

 

But some clans' blood stayed strong for ages. Not many, and those who still had it didn't have it as pure as it was. Ashura had seen one at his time, within the comrade of last rogue Uchiha who was the youngest between all of the rogue Uchiha -all of those who were alive had gone rogue that time, it was so sad that it wasn't even funny-.  _Jūgo_ , because he deserved to be called with his name for his pure heart- and his blood too, but with blood people had no chance to choose, his heart was what he could change for good or bad.

 

Uzumaki stayed with how their blood had been. There were lots of stories about how spirits that chose them for their fire-spitting edge and rawness, for their heated love for everything and deep buried belief for _something_ , because there was something within the earth they walked. Uzumaki always had the strongest sensor, not for their range but their ability to feel the nature in a way no other could.

 

The nature spirits who had chose Uzumaki gave them gifts, like all other spirits. But they did something different too, because Uzumaki were different, with their temper rivaling the fire god and their deep-rotted love just like love god. They belonged to god of that island, they were people of whirlpool. Such loyalty to a god impressed the spirits, so they gave them different gifts.

 

They made them whirlpool's people. Not on faith, not on name or words, but for real. They lived long to serve their island, to protect and look for it till their god came back. Uzumaki had the different ending, because they served to their god. They lived long enough for their blood to hold on, they did not see as many generations as the world had seen.

 

Their gift's difference was the Legacy of Uzu. They had the Legacy of their god. Their god slept just like all other gods, but their island whispered them their god's words.

 

( _Our gift was not for us,_ his sensei explained to them while they were painting the Academy's fence with Ashura's teammates, _i_ _t was for next generations, for the time when everything were going to come apart. And when the time comes, our legacy was going to help the people of Uzu to make it right again._

 

He chuckled, _some_ _people call it a bed time story because the time didn't come yet, but I think we are lucky that it didn't. If it did..._ he stopped and his smile turned to a grim face as looked at their faces one by one.

 

 _If it did, I don't think any of us would survive it._ )

 

So in the end, he just stayed quiet and watched the ones who reminded him of his people. He could stay there, it was so tempting. He could live in Wave, wake up to a lover and friends, and he would go to a job, he would have kids, get old, then die because of old age...

 

But that couldn't happen, can it?

 

He was an Uzumaki. A beaten one, one that almost lost his wildness and fire, but an Uzumaki nonetheless. He wouldn't go without a fight.

 

Well, he would be lying if he said that he didn't want to get back at Obito for breaking his ribs, so why not do it?

 

He was becoming too tame, too domesticated.

 

His heart was still the heart of a warrior.

 

_Time to show it to the world, eh, sensei?_


	3. those roots which were buried deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashura could say that this was the worst plan he could come up with, but it would have been a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought of something and it's crazy and if I had to summarize it to you, it's basically mindfuck. Like, I didn't know I could plot so well.
> 
> Let this be said that I have no idea what Ashura is doing at Kumo.
> 
> And that's all. Thanks for the comments by the way, some might think that it's not even that much, but you almost got me blushed. Almost, but not quite. Whatever, it just made me start this chapter right after I posted the previous one, which resulted with me posting another chapter after 3 days. So thank you for all kudos and comments.
> 
> If you have any ideas or just spotted a mistake, I'm listening. 
> 
> (If you want to know, I am on tumblr as WithYourRhythm too. I don't post much but I post when there is something about the story and when the chapters are published. Plus, I don't have a beta reader, so if any of you are interested, please talk to me.)
> 
> Enjoy~

_"Oi. Dobe. Wake up, food's ready."_

 

_Someone gingerly kicked his leg. "Oi! Who am I talking to?"_

 

_Ashura snorted, "How can I know? My eyes are closed, teme!"_

 

_The one who he was talking to sat beside him and put his hand on Ashura's shoulder. "How's your wound? Sakura said it would be fine in a few hours." The man's hand shifted to his arm. "But it'll leave a scar."_

 

_Ashura opened his eyes._

 

_~~Sensei~~?_

 

_Another thought answered the first one after a moment._

 

_**Lo** **ver.**_

 

_"Please tell me it's ramen. I could kill for some."_

 

_The man's eyes tightened a little. "No way. We've been eating ramen for last three days, I'm done with it."_

 

_They didn't, but this was a routine between them. It reminded them of old days, when there was actually a place to eat ramen._

 

~~_But Sensei loved ramen even more than me. He never refused me when I wanted to eat it, and this- he is not Sensei._ ~~

 

_"Teme!" Ashura smiled and got up._

 

_But he wasn't Ashura either, was he?_

 

\--

 

 "The white guy was there! How, how, how? Master knows the future, doesn't he? He can see, he can see Dorobō's stash's future! Tell Dorobō, Master, please! Dorobō needs to know, tell Dorobō!"

 

Ashura's lip quirked upwards, "No, Dorobō, I didn't know he was there, and I'm sure your stash will be safe. So can you tell me what you know?"

 

Dorobō twitched a little while standing on Ashura's right hand and ran from his shoulder to get on his left hand, "Dorobō found what you asked, Master. Dorobō learned that the white guy was there with someone else and they knew there was one of your clan out there, Master! They didn't know who, but they told that they had seen the barrier at Uzu. They said that they couldn't unseal it, they knew no fuuinjutsu like you, Master!" He jumped a little, "And Dorobō stole a walnut!"

 

Ashura felt a small smile creeping up his features and he let his eyes close with it, "I'm proud of you, Dorobō."

 

The little raccoon sniffed a little around, "Thank you, Master, thank you! Dorobō is happy that you are his Master, Dorobō is glad!" The raccoon's little fingers wrapped around Ashura's thumb, "Dorobō will steal an apple from Urusai for you! Just you wait, Master!"

 

The raccoon disappeared with a puff of smoke.

 

Ashura chuckled a little, "They grow up so fast."

 

(Ashura never smiled as big as before, never that bright, but the closest he came to it was when his raccoons were with him. They always cared for Ashura, and they didn't blame him for his foolish actions. They didn't die on him either, except, Dorobō always came close to it.

 

Ashura loved his summons in a way he never thought he would, and he wasn't so sure if he regretted it.

 

Though, they were worth it.)

 

\--

 

Land of Fire was close to Wave Country. All Ashura had to do was spend some time on boat, and he would be there. Kushina would be there, he could stay there and let events play out as he wanted them. He could even have a house. A little small but cozy one, definitely with a king-sized bed and a really big kitchen.

 

But instead of going to the Fire Country, he had to go to the Land of Lightning, didn't he?

 

He hated that particular Country almost more than anything (Not really, Ashura never let himself hate, but he just  _really_ didn't like Kumo-nin). They tortured him for at least two years. But more importantly, Arashi (the oldest brother in the family after him, his fire-breathing storm, that little family's cranky, but loving part, always there with his innocent but inappropriate questions) got killed because of a crossfire between them and Iwa, just like his youngest brother (little, sweet Kaede, his forever hungry sweet-tooth and never ending requests for piggy-back rides, with a wish of marrying Ashura when he grew up), except, Kaede's death hadn't been that easy. Because of them, he didn't even get a chance to see Kairi (his second youngest, know-it-all brother, who loved learning and asking questions, always followed him around like a little duckling and spent time hugging to Ashura's leg, who loved cuddling Ashura for hours just because) one last time, to kiss his head and ask him to sing a silly song for his brothers and himself.

 

Such cruelty, those men held in their heart.

 

( _You were too late_ , they whispered to him, hiding behind masks and blades. _You couldn't save your brothers, so why not give up and save our brothers? Yours are already dead, after all._ )

 

(Ashura never really thought about his brothers. Never let himself to do so, because it was his own fault that they died. But sometimes their memories would worm their way into his mind and Ashura would see them, their love and their anger and their horror, and he couldn't-

 

He never got any sleep that days.)

 

 

But here he was, camping within the Land of Lightning while trying to come up with a plan.

 

Ashura wasn't a genius. He was never that good at politics and planning, which was a little sad, because he was the next- he was the Clan Head and were any of the clan elders alive, he probably would be eaten alive.

 

(Kushina thought she was the Clan Head for a long time even though she couldn't be.

 

Before Ashura left Uzushio with his brothers, he had to take the title, even though he wasn't pure-blooded Uzumaki. He was only choice. He wasn't even a part of main family, the royal family like Kushina and Kama, he was a bastard branch member. But Kushina was going to marry - _politics_ , they used to say, _she is Konoha now, and she can't be the Clan Head as someone's wife_. Not because she was a girl, but because she was destined to be a part of Konoha Clans. It was her luck that she had married the Yondaime Hokage for love. If Namikaze Minato didn't become Hokage, the Namikaze name wouldn't be a Clan name and the contact with Uzushio elders wouldn't let her marry him.

 

Kushina was out of question and so was Kama. There was no one outside village except missing-nin, because the Sandaime didn't want to take a place at the war, so no missions were given outside the island for a few months. The others were not going to survive the invasion too. Ashura and his brothers weren't supposed to survive the invasion either, but they could pass through altered seals, because Kama hadn't thought that Ashura would write the seal he gave to Kama with his own blood-mixed ink. It was pure luck that Ashura was out of regular ink that night.

 

So all there was left was Ashura and his brothers. Ashura was the first son, so the duty fell to his shoulders, he couldn't let his brothers carry that burden. With Uzukage hat, Clan Head title didn't matter that much anyway. Just another title he had to take on, because nobody was alive to take it.)

 

Ashura wasn't one to plan. He could, but he wasn't anything special and usually there was nothing to plan for him. In Uzushio, he was just a shinobi, taking orders from his Uzukage. The invasion was Kama's plan, and the run Ashura and his brothers had been on was left in disaster. Choosing to go with Orochimaru or Obito wasn't any better, so it was better to assume he wasn't one to plan.

 

Which meant, he didn't know what to do. So he just meditated for a few hours and then decided to do one of his worst ideas ever.

 

Well, he was an Uzumaki after all, nobody would be shocked anyway.

 

So he wore the white Uzukage robe, which had been sealed within the storage seal on his forearm. The robe had the kanji for Uzukage written with blue on middle of it's back. Dozens of little seals were littering around it, creating a swirl- Uzumaki Clan symbol, meaning the Uzukage wearing the robe was an Uzumaki. A single swirl was located on each of the robe's arms, starting from sleeves to wrists. Though, the Uzukage robe itself had hundreds of seals seamed together inside it. Such a weapon to wear without no one noticing.

 

The traditional robe had a hat to go with it too, that damn ugly thing. Ashura had almost given up on it the second he saw the hat because  _god,_   _the humidity in the air and the sweat it would cause with loose hair_. But after that, he just accepted the horrifying truth, put his hair up in a ponytail with his bangs free and tried to wear the hat without messing his red hair. He tied four seals to his hair-tie, hanging down beside his ponytail. It was a tradition too, four seals meant Yondaime.

 

Then, he checked his weapons, because he was walking straight into enemy lands with a bow wrapped around his throat, and _sensei will kill him at afterlife_ if he dares to die like that.

 

So with his sai blades, kunai pouch hidden under the robe, the robe itself and his own seals, Ashura didn't think he was going to die the second he got close to the hidden village. And if he did, well, at least he tried.

 

(Sensei often looked at Ashura. Not look kind of look, but _look_. At first, his family got worried that sensei was going to do something bad, but when sensei came to check on Ashura and his family demanded an explanation, he explained to them why. Ashura listened them behind the door of his room.

 

 _I knew someone like Ashura. He was full of laughter and sunshine and fire but I- I never got the chance to say goodbye to him. When I look at Ashura, I see a student full of will, full of chances and happiness that's waiting for him._ He stumbled around words, as if he was trying to come up with the right one. _When I look at him, I think that maybe this time, I will get the chance to say goodbye to a precious person I have._

 

He got that chance. But while whispering his goodbye, he also said that if Ashura came too early to the place he was going, he would kick Ashura's ass to life.

 

Those purple bruises didn't fade at least for two weeks. Ashura had no plans of getting them again.)

 

( _Sensei would be proud_.)

 

\--

 

Ashura could say that this was the worst plan he could come up with, but it would have been a lie. Kumo was lucky that he didn't try to act like a Suna ambassador or anything crazy like that.

 

He could've start a war just like that, when he just came back in time to stop another one.

 

So when Ashura walked towards to the gate of Kumogakure, he tried to appear non-threatening. But it didn't work like how he thought it would.

 

He wasn't so sure if sensei would be proud anymore, actually. More like, he would kill Ashura, laughing and crying at the same time while yelling "What the hell did I do wrong with you?"

 

\--

 

"You said what?" The Sandaime Raikage stood up from his chair and smashed his hands onto his desk, "Someone with red hair, dressed in Uzukage robes? At _gates_? What the _hell_?"

 

\--

 

"Hello, excuse me for intruding, young man. But I was wondering if I could talk to your Raikage. After all, Kage should discuss village matter with each other."

 

Ashura's small, polite smile seemed to do nothing in his favor. Actually, it seemed to alert the gate guards even more, depending on the hand the guard put on his katana. "I'm sorry, shinobi-san, but I can't let you do that."

 

Ashura's smile widened, but it probably looked like a sneer from outside. With that many teeth showing, Ashura would think it was a sneer too, had he seen it. "You sure you want to attack me? Because I won't hold back if you do. Your T&I tortured me just a few years back and I'm itching to get back at you gentleman, so please proceed."

 

The man seemed to hesitate, as if he didn't have any orders for this kind of thing, but he probably didn't anyway. Ashura didn't think this kind of things had happened much. If it did, he would know it.

 

"An Uzukage?  _Yondaime_ Uzukage? Now that's what I call bullshit. Uzushio is gone for good. You couldn't choose a worse cover for yourself."

 

Ashura turned his head to left, "Raikage. Nice to meet you again." The Sandaime Raikage, A was looking at Ashura in a relaxed stance, as if Ashura was nothing. "But who said that Uzushio is gone? And that I am a fake?"

 

Ashura took a step forward without caring the alarmed shinobi around them and swiftly saluted. "I am Yondaime Uzukage of Uzushiogakure no Sato. My name is Uzumaki Ashura, and I have come to decide on the relationship Uzu no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni are going to have." He let a sneer-like smile blossom on his face again. "Which means, I am going to decide if Uzushio is going to enter the Third Shinobi War, and if it does, whose side is it going to be on?"

 

A snorted. "As if! Uzu no Kuni has no human alive in it. And if you really are an Uzumaki who is threatening Kumo, that means all I have to do is taking care of you. Shouldn't be too hard."

 

Ashura felt his blood boil. "I am no bijuu, neither a jinchuuriki, but I can hold my own against you, A. Though, somehow I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't want to attack a Kage of a hidden village, would you? After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen was pretty upset when Konoha lost it's closest ally. He got even more upset when an orphan almost got caught between the hidden villages' wars, too. Would be a shame if he learned how everything had proceeded, or he might find one or two clues about what had exactly happened."

 

With proof, Konoha elders would push a war without waiting. Especially Shimura Danzō would see the opportunity the second it showed itself. A kidnapping try on jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune by Kumogakure, with leftover proof on who had done it would mean Konoha could bring out all its weapons, including nine-tails' itself. Because Kumo would be the one to start the war.

 

A's eyes narrowed. "You are playing with fire, Uzukage."

 

Ashura tried to hide his relief. After all, Raikage just chose to be entertained. He still could attack Ashura anyway. They were already in a war, it would bring nothing new. And Raikage didn't hold back on taking risks either.

 

"Maybe, but you can't win the war without risking anything, A." Ashura could hear Kaede's screams. "You would know this."

 

But the news of Uzushio being alive had been news to A. And if it was true, if he could ally Kumo with Uzu, then he could get fuuinjutsu experts who were willing to teach.

 

Or that was what Ashura could think why A would accept his offer to talk. He really wasn't one for politics and plans. All he wanted to do was traveling, he missed watching the world.

 

It was simpler. More beautiful too. But...

 

Ashura tried to remember the feeling of the only hug he got from Naruto.

 

 _I am here now_ _,_ he had said,  _and you are here_ too.

 

_Right now, I am. And I'll make sure one day you will be too, with your parents, friends, and maybe a whole new village for those like us._

 

(Uzushio awaits.)

 

\--

 

Ashura remembered the Nidaime. He was a good leader. He was taught by Ashina Uzumaki himself, the last Clan Head during Clan Wars and most powerful Seal-Master during his time. Actually, it was told that Ashina Uzumaki was his grandfather, but it was never confirmed.

 

The Nidaime was called as Storm God. He had such affinity to water and wind that he could create storms, and with his genjutsu based seals, he was unstoppable. A ninjutsu specialist with genjutsu seals and a taijutsu master battle-partner meant he covered all the bases. He was really powerful.

 

Though, his genius never managed to pass down through generations. His daughter was a medic-nin, so she was never sent to battlefields, she only had access to the tents for injured nin.

 

The Nidaime wanted the royal family and branch family together, he believed no Uzumaki was inferior to others. So he decided to choose a branch family member as his successor and told this to his village.

 

Such a wrong decision he did.

 

Her daughter was so furious. She believed that he insulted her. She had thought that she was going to become the Sandaime, after all, she was the Nidaime's daughter.

 

( _How dare he! He is my father, my own blood, I should have been chosen as Sandaime! Don't you think so, Ashura? That damn old man, doesn't even know what he's talking about.)_

 

One night, with his arms around Ashura, Kama had whispered him about how much he had wished to make things right, how he wished to build a home where it all would be fine, with no royal or branch family, with laughter and ocean and Ashura there.

 

_(We all would be happy, Ashura. There would be no fight on successors and no war outside of these walls could disturb us. A perfect world, with you, me and our home.)_

 

And Ashura could hear Kama's words every second.

 

_(Can't you see? This village is dying, Ashura! I promised that I would build a new one for you! I can't do that with this wreck of a village standing there. So I'm going to destroy it and build a new one! A perfect one!)_

 

Ashura could hear every single word, even Obito's.

 

_(I want a world with no wars, no deaths. There would be just us and our precious people, living in a place for those like us. You want this too, don't you, Uzumaki? You've already lost too much, isn't it enough for you?)_

 

And it all came to one thing.

 

_(Sensei? Why do people fight? The war and all, I think it's stupid. I don't know their reason for killing one's precious person, but I know that I can't stand that._

 

_I think I know what I want to do when I graduate from Academy._

 

_I'm going to build a home for every single person who wants a home. And I am going to do that without taking other people's home.)_

 

But Ashura didn't want to hear them anymore.

 

_(That is a fine dream, Ashura. You'll become a true shinobi.)_

 

Ashura was tired. He was so tired and he missed his home, with that ginger smell and horrifying green couch at living room, the two-hours-long never ending baths of Arashi, toys of Kaede which Ashura had always tripped over and Kairi's songs he always mumbled without realizing, his mother's smell of old honing oil and sharpening stones, his father's cookie smell and sharp humor which had always accompanied it.

 

Ashura was a battle baby. He was never meant to be born, always a stranger to Uzushio but never belonging to outside of the island either. Forever outsider, never wanted.

 

Except, his family loved him dearly. Losing them did the job.

 

Ashura had dreams of dying, of taking a blow that was meant to be for his mother, which his sensei actually took. It was disorienting, because it felt so real, so terrifying.

 

At those dreams, sensei wasn't there to save him.

 

_(You shouldn't die here, Ashura. Everything ended here once, but you have to change it now. We tried all we could to change it, now it's in your hands.)_

 

Ashura didn't know what had happened.

 

He planned to learn it.

 

\--

 

"What are you after?"

 

Ashura couldn't help the quirk of his lips from amusement. "What am I after?"

 

A studied his face with a glint of knowing look in his eyes, "Uzushio was leveled. What are you trying to do?"

 

Ashura hid his hands in his sleeves, and stayed quiet.

 

"Well?" The Raikage lifted a brow, waiting.

 

Ashura took a deep breath and calmly murmured. "Nobody knew what exactly happened at that massacre. Those who had seen it are dead, after all. But I am alive and I have a duty to fulfill, so I came here." Ashura took a calming breath. "You captured me a few years back. You remember it too."

 

A's hands flexed for a second. Were Ashura a lesser shinobi than he was, he would miss the movement. "So you are here for revenge."

 

"I bear no hatred towards you. Leaders have their jobs. You are a Kage, aren't you?" Ashura smiled bitterly, "A good Kage, but a bad human."

 

A's face took a shape of humor. "Can't be both at the same time."

 

Ashura wouldn't know. He never knew of his duty, never knew that it didn't end at that massacre. He only learned it from Obito, when it was too late. But he could learn. And he could make his own path, too.

 

"Uzushio is alive. Not a hidden village, not anymore, but a moving one. And I am talking for them." 

 

A froze.

 

"Hundreds of Uzumaki Seal Masters, ninjutsu specialists, taijutsu masters, blacksmiths and bloodline users, with so many villager that they had to spread around Elemental Nations to hide and live. With the soul of Uzushio in every single person alive."

 

(Not the Uzushiogakure Ashura remembered, not _home_ and  _family_ , just a fading version of it. He still grieved the Uzushio's destruction, but nobody had to know that. Showing weakness meant death at there, outside of the walls of his home's boundaries.)

 

(And still, it might not be the Uzushiogakure Ashura remembered, but nobody had said that he couldn't make it better, that he couldn't make it  _home_.)

 

Ashura couldn't help it, he chuckled. "We are alive, Raikage. And we are going to rise again."

 

_(Because that was the truth, wasn't it? With that Civil War, there had been hundreds of missing-nin and villagers that that went missing. Ashura never learned till they all got hunted by the hand of a Warmonger, but now he knew, and he wasn't planning to let his people die again.)_

 

\--

 

_Ashura poked his head from the door to look at room. When he saw no movement, he slipped inside and closed the door._

 

_Walking towards the bed at the middle of the room, he climbed to the chair beside the bed._

 

_A man was lying on the bed, unconscious._

 

_Ashura poked the man's cheek._

 

_"Mister?" When there was no response, he poked again. "Mister! Are you awake?"_

 

 _He pouted when the man didn't wake up._ _"Mister, mom says you are not Uzu. Who are you?"_

 

_"I am Konoha, brat."_

 

_Ashura shrieked with the deep voice. "You are awake!"_

 

_The man's chuckle interrupted with a vicious cough. Ashura panicked and tried to point the glass of water he saw at the nightstand right beside chair while flailing his arms. "Mister, mister water is there! Are you okay? Please be! Mother would be angry that I came here!"_

 

_The man tried to sit up and drank the water while coughing on himself a little. "Don't worry, little monster, I'll live."_

 

_Ashura's eyes filled with tears, "Why are you calling me monster? I am not, that's what mother said to my caretaker!"_

 

_The man patted his head. "I called you little monster, because I'm pretty sure you just broke a few rules with coming this room. You must scare the shit out of all the adults with such a move."_

 

_Ashura blinked his tears away and looked at the man curiously. "What does 'shit' mean?"_

 

_The man slapped his own face. "Crap. What a way to go."_

 

_Ashura was seven. The man was his sensei-to-be, even though nobody knew this._

 

_(And 'shit' was the first curse he learned.)_

 

\--

 

"Then why are you in Kumo?"

 

"There is a war brewing outside of these walls, A, and I'm not talking about the Third Shinobi War." Ashura took a sip from his non-poisoned tea, "I'm planning to survive."

 

A's face looked like steel. "And where do you see my village in that vision of yours?"

 

Ashura's eyes closed with the mischievous smile he carried. "Well, I want to know that too. That's why I am here, Raikage."

 

He put his tea cup down. "Now, lets start talking about the real business, shall we?"


	4. so they reached out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umō didn't even pause his running, "You just made a peace between two villages."
> 
>  
> 
> Urusai laughed, "One is made from one person, a few raccoons and a whole island which contains the village's rubble."
> 
>  
> 
> Umō's voice increased, "I know, right? How did we found such an idiot summoner, I wonder."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In canon, by this time Sandaime Raikage died. I don't know exactly when, but it goes on like this:
> 
> Yondaime Raikage and B fought with Minato and B got 'Killer B' name. Sandaime Raikage died at Third Shinobi War too (I don't remember if it was before or after that encounter but Minato said something about their next encounter will be when they were both Kage or something like that, if I remember correctly). And Third Shinobi War had already started. So I decided on thispart of timeline:
> 
> Third Shinobi World War started. A and B didn't fought with Minato yet. A is not Yondaime Raikage too. Sandaime Raikage is still alive. And yes, his name is A too. Creeps, that bunch.

As a Kage, A had many headaches. Controlling the military power of a country was not an easy job.

 

A's newest headache, that damned Uzumaki boy was sitting in front of him -though, A couldn't call him a boy, the Uzumaki's look spoke no truth. For all he knew, he could be fifty years-old.

 

Uzushio still standing meant Konoha's ally was still out there. And there was the thought of revenge, too. A was pretty sure that Kiri and Iwa was going to have their hand full in the close future, if not already.

 

What were they thinking, attacking the Uzumaki on their own lands? That island always attacked foreigners. Wild animals trailed them, sudden changes on the ocean drowned them, not even a drop of clear water was founded by an outsider to drink.

 

He was surprised, when he heard about Uzushiogakure's fall. How could they destroy a hidden village which resided on an island with a deep hate for outsiders? How did they manage to pass through barrier seals? Iwa had Doton jutsus, but what good it had in a chakra suppressing area? How did they use Suiton jutsus against those who had a home made of water with full of traps for those who didn't know of it.

 

Then it came into his mind,  _traitors_. Uzu was close-lipped, full of emotional shinobi. They were all about love, even more than that tree-hugger Konoha. But those last months before it's destruction, there was a difference. Uzu missing-nin count was suddenly increased. Not that A caught many of them, and if he did, it was to find bones of those who preferred death that giving away Uzu's secrets.

 

But here he was, talking to an Uzumaki who came willingly to Kumogakure.

 

A must be getting old.

 

"You want me to take a step back?"

 

The man's, Ashura's frown deepened, "No. Well, yes. In a way. I don't want you to stop your missions and fights for us, that would be impossible for a hidden village. But I want you to stop trying to kidnap children from Konoha and don't attack Uzushio." As if the red-head had seen the way A thought, he added. "You know what I mean. Jinchuuriki? You have no chance of getting them."

 

A's face hardened, "Do you realize what you are talking about?"

 

Ashura leaned forward, elbows resting against his knees, "I thought we left the 'keep-your-mouth-shut-or-speak-carefully' part behind when we came to your office, A."

 

A didn't move.

 

Ashura sighed, "You can't have them, anyway. Uzushio was always quiet, out of outside affairs, but times changed. We won't close our eyes. Maybe it's time for us to make sure our allies are properly protected, and their seals are checked once more. I have heard... unpleasant things about their seal use with our teachings."

 

This was a big headache, for sure. A couldn't even believe that he was listening this bullshit. As if this was real, he didn't have time for this, he had a meeting-

 

"Blue B passed away already, didn't he?"

 

A didn't let his expression change, he was too much of a shinobi for that, but he knew that the rest of this conversation was not going to be funny.

 

The Uzumaki kept a blank face as locked his fingers beneath his chin, "Such an unfortunate event, isn't it? And how is B? Your son's partner, right?"

 

The Raikage felt the tension rise higher. He wanted to flex his fingers, wanted to feel the man's throat beneath his fingers. But being a Kage wasn't all about strength, so he kept his posture same as before, relaxed, as if the man meant nothing to him. "Unfortunate indeed. And B is fine. He was chosen as my son's partner."

 

Nothing more, just repeating the known information by other side. A could bet on his next meal that there was going to be a mess.

 

Ashura's eyes narrowed, "So I've heard."

 

His lips almost twitched, except it didn't. "Your point?"

 

Ashura suddenly gave a little grin, catching A off guard a little, "No information is free, A! Want to make a little exchange? This information on Blue B for two favors and the promise of not letting anything out on the thing I said or will say in here. A nice deal, if you ask me!"

 

The Sandaime could feel his instincts going haywire, "That exchange doesn't seem fair to me."

 

A chuckle came from other man, "Now, that is what I call hard bargaining! Let's say you could abandon the deal if the information is too crappy, then."

 

"Good information for staying quiet and two favors."

 

Uzumaki nodded, "Yeah. I'm in more danger, considering you could always break your promise of favor." He hesitated, "Actually, that sounded a little bad to me too, so I say I can help your jinchuuriki about their bijuu."

 

A frowned, "As if I would let-"

 

Ashura held his hands out, "Now this is too much. I won't do anything, but I can say a few words to them."

 

A snort followed Ashura's words, "No way."

 

The red-head frowned, "Okay then. What about a short note, with you seeing its contents? You can just throw it to my face if you don't like it."

 

Resting against his seat, A took a second to consider.

 

A note. With no secret information in it. Written by an Uzumaki.

 

 "No."

 

An Uzumaki was strongest with paper and ink. A couldn't trust him.

 

The Uzumaki sighed, "Okay, then how about I tell the words to you and you tell them? This way, nothing could happen. And I am offering information on Blue B too. You shouldn't dismiss this deal quickly, Raikage."

 

A's headache suddenly became so much worse, "If I refuse, you are going to visit another hidden village and offer them a deal, aren't you?"

 

Ashura's small smile was full of amusement.

 

"I want fuuinjutsu scrolls. Three of them, with the concept I choose in them."

 

Red-head's face suddenly became cold, smile vanishing to thin air, "No." He straightened in his seat, "No fuuinjutsu, no Uzumaki scrolls, nothing. If you ask for that, that means my job here is finished."

 

A massaged his temples, "You Uzumaki are not worth the trouble you cause."

 

"Your answer?"

 

"No kidnapping attempt on Konoha and no attacking Uzu shinobi, keeping quiet, two favors, but nothing against my loyalty and my beliefs, for being one of Uzushio's ally, a chance to call for your shinobi if there is a dangerous station, information on Blue B's death. _And_  some information on controlling the bijuu our jinchuuriki has." A lifted his head and looked to Ashura's eyes, "This won't be free. If I can't attack Uzushio, I'll need the supplies I could get from your lands. So let's say you give the amount of money we could decide on how much."

 

Ashura blinked, "Consider it done. I'm sure I could find some money."

 

A kinda started to hate this man. "I accept."

 

Ashura got up and held his hand out, "It was a pleasure, doing business with you, Raikage."

 

A followed him up and shook his hand, "You as well, Uzukage." He snorted, "You just managed a first and created a peace between Kumo and Uzushio. The Elemental Nations calls you red-heads crazy. They were more than right."

 

His village's newest ally smiled, "Why, thank you! And I didn't do it by myself, you were a part of this too, A. Congratulations, you just became as crazy as an Uzumaki!" His eyes were amused, voice filled with mirth.

 

A almost face palmed, he could hear his thoughts going to the direction of  _what have I done?_ and  _this is not going to end good._

 

(A did many bad things. He was a shinobi, a killer, a fighter and a Kage of a hidden village. There was always two choices in front of him, the _human_ one and the _shinobi_ one.

 

He always chose shinobi one.

 

Maybe this time, there would be more choices.)

 

(And maybe, after a while spent with this man, he felt a pinch of guilt in his gut. Because he killed this man's remaining family, he tried to twist his mind into something horrible, something monstrous, but he was a Kage. It was either them or his village. He made the right choice.

 

But this never meant he couldn't wonder, just what would happen if he let that scarred, bleeding family go.)

 

(Maybe just what was happening right now was the answer.)

 

\--

 

Hiruzen sighed. While looking at the map on his desk, he could only see blood-shed and death, for his shinobi and for other's too.

 

He sometimes wondered, what was Tobirama-sensei thinking, when he gave the hat to him. Had he seen potential? Or did he thought Hiruzen as too cold, just made for this job? Maybe he just decided wrong. Even-

 

"Hokage-sama."

 

Hiruzen took his hat in his hands and turned from the window towards the ANBU in front of his desk, "Owl," Her mission was supposed to end two days ago, but with this new-started war, the lateness was understandable. "Where is your team?"

 

The kunoichi didn't rise from her knees, obviously too trained to do such a thing before her Hokage let her, "They are getting medical treatment, Hokage-sama. I was cleared with minor chakra poisoning and three broken fingers, so I came in to give my report."

 

Hiruzen felt too old for this, and he wasn't even in his fifties, "You can rise." When the ANBU did as he told, he nodded, "Go on."

 

She took a deep breath, "Team Captain ANBU Owl, ANBU identification number 03043, reporting in for A-ranked mission number 0068307. The team assigned to the mission consisted ANBU Cat, ANBU Deer, ANBU Bear and ANBU Owl. Assigned Team Captain was ANBU Owl. Mission was classified, consisted a mix of infiltration, seduction and assassination, by that order. Our target, Satori Katashi was a well protected wealthy man. He was selling illegal medicine in Fire Country, which had a subtle but deadly poison in it. And he was also a spy for another hidden village. We didn't found any proof, but the medicine he sold had lots of plants from Land of Lightning in it, so it's more likely he was a spy from Kumogakure no Sato."

 

Hiruzen held his hand up, "Did you interrogated him before finishing your mission?"

 

Owl bowed her head, "No, Hokage-sama. I started the interrogation, but a few bandits attacked the building and our target managed to bite of his tongue. He drowned in his blood. But I managed to learn that he got a new order from Sandaime Raikage."

 

Hiruzen knew that the war was newly started, but A never held back on fights. He was an honorable man, he believed that if he held back, that would insult his opponent. And if he respected his opponent, he would never insult them.

 

A respected Hiruzen enough, so Hiruzen had to be careful, or there could be a bigger war than the one Konoha was fighting with Iwa. "Go on."

 

Owl hesitated, "Our target said that his new order was to stand by."

 

Hiruzen could feel the look in his eyes sharpening, "What was the exact words he used?"

 

"Raikage-sama sent a messenger to me with a new order. I was told to stand by and stop selling medicine. But I was going to keep spying." Owl stopped for a second, "There was lots of screaming, moaning and crying in between, but as far as I heard, his wording choices were those."

 

Hiruzen frowned, "You don't have to finish your report. Anything else important you learned on the mission?"

 

The ANBU twitched, "There was a rumor of a red-haired shinobi wearing traditional Uzushio robes and four seals on his hair. It was told to a farmer by a hunter. They also talked about that man going Kumogakure no Sato and attacking Sandaime Raikage. But a woman, a traveler said that the shinobi didn't fight with Sandaime Raikage, she told that they were-" she hesitated, "lovers, meeting after a long time. There was a few more rumors about that shinobi, but all were sketchy at best, the only ones which we could hold on was these."

 

Hiruzen's his frown deepened, "Are all of the rumors are in your report?"

 

Owl nodded, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

 

"Dismissed."

 

Owl bowed once more, and was gone with a shunshin.

 

Hiruzen turned to the window once more.

 

 _Something big happened._ He grimaced,  _I'll have to deal with it too._

 

_Sensei, what were you thinking?_

 

\--

 

"Right, so I did something." Ashura knew this was going to be terrible.

 

Urusai snorted, "We realized."

 

"And we didn't like it." Umō added.

 

Ashura stumbled, "What! Why?"

 

Umō didn't even pause his running, "You just made a peace between two villages."

 

Urusai laughed, "One is made from one person, a few raccoons and a whole island which contains the village's rubble."

 

Umō's voice increased, "I know, right? How did we managed to find such an idiot summoner, I wonder."

 

Ashura's pout went unseen, "But I created an alliance, now all I have to do is creating a village!"

 

Umō growled over Urusai's laugh, "And how is that gonna happen? You dumb, stupid human! I can't believe you managed to stay alive this long! Time traveling, playing with space-time seals, going to  _Kumo_ of all places! Sage, what is  _wrong_ with you?"

 

Urusai managed to talk between his laugh, "An alliance!"

 

Ashura suddenly skipped a beat, sliding on the water surface. The raccoons realized his stop in an instant and stopped with him as well.

 

Ashura frowned, "What do you want me to do? What do you expect? I have to change something, and I _will_. I am creating a home! You can't expect me to stop."

 

Urusai became serious right away and pushed Umō's tail with his own, "Ashura..."

 

Umō snarled, "You stupid human! Can you hear yourself? Talking like-"

 

"Like what? Like I want to make something right? Like I want-"

 

"You want this, you want that, who cares what do you want? The important thing is what you need!"

 

"I know what I need! I need to take control, I need to create home!"

 

"No, _you_ need to stop talking like  _him_!"

 

There was a silence.

 

Umō kept going with a calmer voice, "You want, you need- it became all about you! Since when did you stopped believing other people? They can help you, they are not something to be protected,  _not all of them_."

 

Urusai jumped a little, "Umō, don't- you know why he acts like this."

 

Umō's snort stopped Urusai, "Right, he needs to know that too."

 

"No, Boss forbid us to talk about it to Master, Umō, don't you dare-"

 

Ashura's breath came out ragged. "What?"

 

Urusai whipped his tail, "Nothing for you to worry about, Master."

 

Umō pushed, "No, you need to know."

 

Ashura could see Urusai becoming angry, "No-"

 

"You have the outsider's chakra in you."

 

With an angry sound, Urusai jumped to Umō. They rolled on the water, clutching and snarling each other as Ashura stumbled.

 

Ashura took a deep breath, "Enough."

 

When the raccoons kept going, he snapped, "I said  _enough_."

 

They both jumped away, stopping their fight. Ashura couldn't see any blood or damage, but he didn't expect to anyway. Urusai attacked Umō to quiet him, not to harm him.

 

Ashura bit his lip, "I'm sorry."

 

No answer came, though he knew they were surprised.

 

"I went on, and forgot what was really going on. It doesn't matter if you keep things from me, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody and one day you explain it to me, you can keep quiet." He sat on the water, hands trembling, "I talked like Kama, you were right, Umō. And if all raccoons decided to keep quiet, then Urusai is right with telling you to do that."

 

He took a shaky breath, "You guys are only one's left. You are family. I trust your judgment."

 

Urusai stood frozen while Umō got close to him, "Master- don't worry. It all will be alright."

 

Urusai hesitated for a second, then ran to Ashura, hugging him without even managing to cover half of Ashura's waist, "Master is sad! We are sorry, we won't fight anymore."

 

Umō slowly ran closer to Ashura's knees, "And we trust you too, Master." His soft voice echoed over empty ocean, "You sometimes need a slapping, that's all." His tail swayed as he talked.

 

Ashura chuckled, "You're right." He scooped both of his summons up as he got up, letting them climb to his shoulders and kept walking, "I don't need to create a home. I need to find people to build a home with all of them together." His next breath came out shakily once more, "I am not Kama. I won't be like him. I will have my precious people to help me, and with their progress, I'll become stronger too."

 

Umō's voice was soft when he talked, "That you will, Master, that you will..."

 

Urusai chuckled as always, "Just be careful about not falling in the ocean, will ya? It was a long way and with all this talking, you are starting to slip."

 

"What? No-"

 

With a loud splashing, Ashura fell in the ocean.

 

"Told you so~"

 

"What kind of Uzumaki would let their concentration fade in the middle of an ocean? Don't they especially be more careful at these chakra control things because of their big reserves?"

 

"I think this Uzumaki is broken."

 

"Damn."

 

"Why did I ever agreed _raccoons_ of all animals to be my summons? You guys are  _terrible_."

 

"At least we know how to walk on water."

 

"Unlike _you_ , may I add?"

 

\--

 

The Third Raikage could feel his eyes twitching.

 

_A shinobi infiltrated your ranks and acted like Blue B's doctor. Giving him genjutsu inducing-pills, he managed to get Blue B out of control. And your jinchuuriki should be careful. Nothing is confirmed, but it's told that there are people outside for him, trained specifically to attack a jinchuuriki. And tell them that the bijuu they contain is not an animal or a demon. The bijuu are intelligent, and they didn't see many good sides of humanity. Who knows what will happen if their container acts on this._

 

A scowled. There wasn't any information on who or why.

 

It seemed like he needed to trap the Uzumaki into a corner once more in the close future.

 

They were allies, now. Uzumaki had no reason to hide a truth.

 

_The second I have the time, I will send him a messenger._

 

\--

 

"Why is your sharingan active, Mikoto?"

 

The kunoichi turned to his red-haired friend, "It's just- I have a feeling." She closed her eyes, and let the sharingan fade, "I wonder what it is."

 

Kushina's laugh boomed right behind Mikoto's ears, "Whatever you say, dattebane!"

 

Her eye twitched, "But Kushina, I am serious." When no reply came from the laughing red-head, she snarled, "Kushina! For god's sake, you damned witch listen to me-"

 

"Right, right." Kushina giggled and swayed her hand in front of Mikoto's face.

 

"You'll see how right I am-" Mikoto leaped towards Kushina, a vicious expression on her face.

 

Kushina's laugh ringed once more, delighted, with a whisper mischief in her eyes, "Bring it on, princess!"


	5. lost nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umō sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I’m juggling between writing five different multi-chaptered works and a few more one-shots while drawing things. Help.
> 
> Though, I do have good news. I finished the first chapter for my missing-nin!Kakashi AU, which won’t be posted till there’re some chapters stocked, because making you wait for this is bad enough. I won’t torture you even more. I also have a 5k MadaTobi one-shot, which is still not complete, but 5k anyway. And I'll draw one or two things for Uchiha Month, maybe even a drabble, nothing much.
> 
> And school started. I’m posting a lot less, if you've noticed. Crap.

The north side of the imaginary map on Ashura’s mind looked like someone accidentally spilled a cup of coffee, then shredded it to pieces and tried to put it back together. It just didn’t make sense.

 

“So... Kiri?” He didn’t even try to make it sound less like a question.

 

They were still on the ocean, but Ashura could see the land ahead of them, and it certainly didn’t look like there was any kind of mist surrounding the area. Though, Ashura could see lots of rock pillars, literally made for cover and ambush, reaching to the sky.

 

His eyes were pretty sure this place wasn’t Kiri, but the map on his head screamed that it was. Still, Ashura had been running for straight five hours on the ocean with his summons, and they had been traveling for almost a week. He did have big chakra reserves, but with his summons, who were using Ashura’s own chakra to travel besides his own usage of chakra, he was _tired_ , which meant that no matter where they were, they had to stop and rest.

 

“What?” Umō’s voice sounded like he wanted to scream, “You were trying to go to Kiri?”

 

Ashura suddenly felt his lifespan shortening. “Uh- No?”

 

Urusai jumped to Ashura’s foot and climbed to his shoulder, face stretched into a grin that Ashura was sure he learned from fox summons, “Master, that land you can see is not Kiri. It’s Iwa.”

 

He could feel his blood pressure decreasing. “You’re serious?”

 

“Deadly.”

 

“God, _no_.”

 

Obviously frustrated, Umō interrupted them, hands pulling at his tail, trying to clean the seaweed and ocean salt from it, “That’s one word for it. Why were we going to Kiri, anyway?”

 

Ashura huffed and started to walking towards the shore. He was pretty sure that after all that running, they deserved a break.

 

As he walked, he carefully massaged his temples and explained, “At Uzushio, I distinctly remember a mission I had in Kiri. It was information gathering, probably with Intelligence Department’s funding.” He hesitated. Even with his summons, talking about the missions he took at Uzushio felt _wrong_. They were supposed to be forgotten after they were completed.

 

But there wasn’t a village to protect. Not right now, though, with Ashura’s plans, there was going to be. “Uh, it was a B-rank, I guess. With sensei and my genin teammates.”

 

Urusai nodded, “I think I remember that one. Is it the one you called for Dorobō? With stolen artifact?”

 

“Yeah, that’s the one.” He grimaced, “I really can’t remember anything about it, it’s been a long time and it wasn’t anything important, but I just thought-”

 

The raccoons looked at him expectantly.

 

Ashura sighed. Umō was going to kill him. “This whole Bloody Mist thing started with the Sandaime Mizukage. And now that I know you-know-who had been playing with Kiri all along, I though that-”

 

“That you could bargain with Kiri shinobi by saving Yondaime Mizukage from his clutches.” Umō finished Ashura’s sentence, lifting his nose upwards.

 

Urusai huffed as he fiddled with the seals on Ashura’s hair, “But we aren’t even sure if he meddled with Kiri for that long, it can be their own doing for all we know. It’s not a safe and sound kind of plan.”

 

Umō added with a doubtful expression, “And are you sure you can take the Mizukage? You have to get him to stop moving, so you can find a way to see what’s going on.” _If there is a genjutsu_ , he probably tried to say, _you can't keep him still long enough to disperse it, anyway. But we are not stupid enough to believe that it can’t be something else._

 

“You bluffed your way with the Raikage, but we both know that you are not strong enough to take on a kage. If you don’t have enough time or information to create a seal specifically designed to neutralize your opponent, you can’t win.” _You can’t survive._

 

But Ashura already knew that.

 

_(“I wouldn’t want to get caught in an ambush you prepared,” Sensei grimaced as he talked, eyes never leaving the nasty seal Ashura created in twenty-eight minutes for the ambush they prepared._

 

_“It’s not that good. Hinata-kun could do better than that bastard!” Ashura’s teammate, Himari, huffed._

 

_“He’s nothing important.” His other teammate, Hinata, rolled his eyes. Turning to Ashura, he snorted at the soft, peace keeper act of silence. “What? You think that the enemies will wait for you to paint that stupid wriggling stripes? What are you, stupid?”_

 

_Sensei frowned, “Quiet! What did I tell all of you about teamwork-”)_

 

( _The dead are dead_ , Ashura used to tell himself at nights, when the whispers of the dead was too loud for him to ignore. _Let them go, or you’ll become one of them._ )

 

(He was already fading away. Those people who were special just because they were _his_ , were all dead, and their screams for their own family, their own _home_ was the last straw.

 

He knew that if he listened them for too long, he would join them. He would call for his god, begging for mercy, for death, but that was far more than what he deserved.

 

Instead, he had to stay alive and _remember_.)

 

Ashura nodded, “I know, but it’s all we have. If we even have any chance at building Uzushio once more from ruins, then the beginning will be the hardest. The village will be in its weakest state when the first steps are taken. We have to get allies, or at least put ourselves at neutral grounds with the other villages.”

 

“I don’t like this. But I don’t like the Kiri idea even more.” Umō took a few steps, still standing on his two feet, hands up.

 

Urusai stopped cleaning his tail, lifting his head up to look at them, “I say we should go back to Uzu. The seals will hold for a while, but not for long. We can build the necessary buildings by ourselves, then call the former Uzu residents back home.” He hesitated, seeing they were really listening to him, “If we separate and one group goes to Konoha, we could get the necessary allies just with one move.”

 

Umō and Ashura looked at each other, the former even stopped his always moving tail and twitching hands which looked really weird on a raccoon, and for a second no one even took a breath.

 

Urusai’s tail came up to cover his eyes, “What?” His squeal sounded embarrassed, “Did I say something wrong? Why are you looking like that?”

 

Ashura blinked.

 

“No.” Umō still looked at Urusai, eyes blank, “No Urusai, nothing is wrong. Your plan is fine, better than the Kiri bullshit Ashura-sama came up with. It’s easier too, hiding in the plain sight.”

 

Urusai peeked at Umō behind his tail, “Oh?”

 

Ashura nodded, “That’s exactly why it was so creepy.”

 

The long screech that followed Ashura’s statement echoed across the ocean.

 

\--

 

An Iwa kunoichi stationed at the border of Earth Country frowned and rubbed her ear.

 

His companion lifted his head across the camp, looking at her, “Something wrong?”

 

“No.” She hesitated, muttering the rest to herself, “I just thought I heard something.”

 

\--

 

Ashura pursued his lips, “Okay, I decided what we’re gonna do.”

 

The raccoons perked up from where they were sitting while trying to catch fishes, “Hm? What’s the plan you decided, Master?” Umō asked.

 

 _Master_. That was what they called Ashura. They joked around, giving him stupid nicknames and making fun of him, but in the end, they always called him Master. Ashura didn’t know if he was worth it, he never did.

 

Ashura wondered if he deserved to be called as that. He made so many bad choices, did things his summons swore never to do so.

 

Though, what was done was done. The raccoons never left Ashura, so all Ashura had to do was being worthy enough to deserve their loyalty. He knew it was going to be hard and that he was already late to do so, but there wasn’t any other way, not for Ashura.

 

He could still make up for all those times he screwed everything up.

 

“I’m going back to Uzu no Kuni.” He took a steady breath, counting to ten before saying the rest, “And you are going to the Land of Fire.”

 

The raccoons didn’t disrupt the silence, waiting for him to go on.

 

“I’ll take care of what I can. You two, on the other hand, will go to Konoha and talk to Kushina-chan. Don’t talk to anybody else without making sure that they can be trusted. Get a chance to talk with the Hokage. Take Dorobō with you.”

 

He took a deep breath and looked at his raccoons for a second.

 

Umō’s white-splattered dark gray fur was dirty with all the running they had done. His eyes were dark, shining with intelligence, obviously thinking many things at the same time. His ears were round naturally, but after a bloody assassination that went wrong because of their target’s rabbit summons, a part of his left ear was cut off, starting from top to middle, making it look like a triangle with uneven bottom. Ashura remembered that feeling, the fear of losing his summons for the first time.

 

Urusai’s fur was brown instead of dark gray, obviously not sharing the same parents with Umō. He was thinner, body type better for running than Umō’s style of hiding and lashing out to the enemies to give Ashura an opening.

 

Unlike Umō, Urusai didn’t have any scars. He was younger than almost all of Ashura’s raccoons, he finished his training just three decades ago. Urusai’s brown stripes were more jagged too, they looked like Ashura’s paintings when Kaede played with them before the ink dried.

 

They were precious. With all the smiles they got from Ashura, with all the _cries_  they got, they were precious for him. They hated his decisions, hated the consequences his actions brought, but stayed with him anyway.

 

Ashura didn’t know why they did it. He never really wanted to learn.

 

Urusai nodded, hands twitching with the effort he made while standing still, “Whatever you say, Master. But don’t look so stiff, one might think you have a stick up your-”

 

“ _Urusai_.” Umō warned, sounding long-suffering.

 

“-hand. I was going to say hand. You know, dango sticks and all. What did you think I was going to say? What do you even take me for?”

 

Umō sighed.

 

\--

 

Considering how tired he was, Ashura decided to stop traveling on water. Umō and Urusai were going to the Earth Country, the closest land they could step on. Without Ashura, they were more likely to escape from Iwa-nin, so it wasn’t too dangerous.

 

Ashura didn’t trust himself to go through Iwa without being detected. He tried to go back to Kumo, but after a while, he was just too tired to go on. He still had more chakra to spare for water-walking, but even with doing as much chakra control training as he did, trying to keep his attention on it got harder with every passing second.

 

The closest land he could see had many great trees, it was colored with the tones of green and looked beautiful. If he could make a bet, he would say it was Kusa. Though, it could be Taki too, because Kusa was mostly grass more than trees.

 

The good news were that there were no patrols he had to hide from. The bed news were, well, there were no one around to get information about which way to go.

 

His day was just getting better and better.

 

Damn.

 

\--

 

“So, what did Hokage-sama want?” Inoichi asked, twirling a few strands of his hair between his hand absentmindedly.

 

Chouza looked up from his bag of chips, face suddenly full of interest, “Oh? Is it a mission, Minato?”

 

Minato sighed, sitting down under the tree his friends rested against. “Well, yes. It’s classified, but I won’t be around for a while.”

 

Shikaku peeked from under his eyelids, not even lifting his head to look up. He looked as lazy as ever, head resting on Inoichi’s thighs, one hand under his neck and the other holding Chouza’s hand.

 

Minato wasn’t sure what pushed them to be this close, but after saying that he had to go to a classified mission, he couldn’t ask them about that... mission, which was classified as well. All he knew was that Shikaku had to choose between taking Inoichi to hospital while leaving Chouza behind to hold enemies back, or letting them all die together.

 

Minato didn’t learn how they escaped, but after that, they were inseparable. They were always close, those three, but when they came home with bloody faces, Inoichi traumatized enough to wake up screaming, Chouza having scars that would normally result with a missing arm, and Shikaku housing many new scars that had no way of healing in that amount of time, it was- different.

 

All of them had changed. But Shikaku was the one who wore a grim face, lying to his Hokage and his friends with a straight face.

 

Though, Minato wasn’t the right person to judge. He had his secrets as well, and Shikaku had been desperate when he realized that Minato knew.

 

He couldn’t abandon his friend when he needed Minato most.

 

“Hmm?”

 

Minato gave them a sheepish smile, hand going to his neck, “Yeah, sorry. I know that we were going to that new place to try out their sukiyaki, but-”

 

Inoichi interrupted him, the new scar on his cheek stretching with the little smile he gave to Minato, his blue eyes looking misty even as he talked, “Don’t worry about it. If Sarutobi-sama ordered you to go, then it should be important.”

 

Shikaku hummed, “I wonder what he’s thinking, sending one of the village’s best away during a war. I’m almost curious.”

 

Minato felt sweat traveling down from his temple, “Uh...”

 

Chouza let out a booming laugh, “Don’t worry Minato! I won’t let him get any ideas.”

 

Shikaku grumbled, “Right, right. You guys are so troublesome, what was I even thinking?”

 

Inoichi’s clouded eyes cleared for a moment as he bent down to leave a kiss Shikaku’s lips, “It’s because the sex’s great.”

 

Minato choked, face becoming red with embarrassment. Chouza cracked down after he took a look at his face, face clear from the desperate look he carried when Minato found them at Iwa’s border while his sabotage mission.

 

“Oh, someone’s messing with the pretty boy? Count me in!”

 

Minato turned his head to look at the new-comer only to find a red-head throwing herself on him, a right hook barely missing his nose.

 

“Kushina!”

 

She laughed with mischief, trying to elbow him from the back of his head while she struggled on him, trying to hold him down. Minato spit out a few strands of red hair, dodging the elbow, “What are you doing? Stop- Kushina!”

 

He held out one hand to push her face away from him, other hand going in front of his chest to create half of a hastily made sign. Disappearing in leaves, he cursed, Kushina’s “Pretty boy! Come back!” echoing in his head.

 

He was going to have nightmares.

 

Girls were crazy.


	6. but won something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving a bloody kiss to his old scrolls were one of his favorite parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this happened.

Ashura wasn't sure what exactly happened, but this-  
  
  
  
This was going to get him killed.  
  
  
  
“Kid, get off.”  
  
  
  
The horrifyingly green bundle that was wrapped around his leg didn't move an inch except letting out a burp.  
  
  
  
Ashura grimaced slightly, trying to believe that the wetness he felt on his foot wasn't puke, though he had a feeling that it definitely was, “I'm serious, you have to let me go.” When nothing happened, he sighed, “Where are your parents anyway? Are you lost?”  
  
  
  
The child hugged his leg tighter, one hand going dangerously close to the throwing knifes he hid under the bandages he wrapped right above his ankles.  
  
  
  
He eyed the green tuft, and _looked_. The child's -she, a girl- skin was covered in mud at some places, her vibrantly green hair visibly dirty, and her clothes were ripped at best -what was left of her clothes, actually. Her ugly shorts and thin shirt, with patches covering many parts, looked as old as the child herself.  
  
  
  
And she didn't have shoes, not even sandals. Her feet were uninjured, though, so Ashura didn't worry. Too much.  
  
  
  
(She was dirty, sure, but under her feet, there were calluses from a long, hard walk. Her nails were too long, her hair was cut unevenly. Her face was too thin, wrists too small. Her eyes were too big for her face.  
  
  
  
She was obviously left alone in this forest.)  
  
  
  
_(“And they were there, resting in the forests forever, hidden from humans and gods. They were protector for those who needed help, and they were hunter for those who stepped on an unforgivable road, actions bringing nothing but horror to those around them. They were fighting, but they were all alone till the day-”_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__“Oi, that's enough! Kairi is trembling!” Arashi interrupted Akame, face full of concern for his little brother._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Akame's displeased frown surfaced, “You know that I have to tell the stories of the forests and oceans to you. Any Uzumaki who is worth their blood has to-”_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__“I know!” Arashi's angry eyes snapped to her, “I know, but this- this is too bloody, and- and-” He turned his head back to Kairi and blinked furiously, trying to keep his tears in his eyes._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__“But someone tried to assassinate him just a week ago? Is that it? So what? We’re Uzumaki, people always try to kill us!” Akame huffed._

 

 _“It's okay, brother.” Kairi smiled a little, his eyes locked to his own trembling hands. He lifted his head and eyed them with a blank look hidden behind his smiling eyes, “I want to learn the rest of the story.”_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Arashi's face started to get red with anger, frustration shining dark in his usually light blue eyes. Then, his head whipped towards Ashura, voice desperate, “Big brother! Don't you have anything to say?”_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__But Ashura's eyes were trained to the window, looking towards somewhere far, far away. His face was carefully blank, but his golden eyes showed that he was thinking hard on something that made him uncomfortable._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Arashi didn't get any replies._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__The story night didn't go on.)_  
  
  
  
(The day before that, Kama had asked Ashura's help to create a better home.)  
  
  
  
The memory shattered when Ashura _saw_ the annoyed rockslide with a hint of fear. He reacted quickly, snatching the girl from her leg roughly, and jumped towards a tree's bark, his feet sticking with chakra. He held the girl close to him, silent steps carrying them higher and higher.  
  
  
  
The girl's eyes were wide open, but she looked like she was trying to be still as possible. Ashura kept the frown out of his face and with his empty hand, gestured the girl to be quiet.  
  
  
  
_("Hmm? Sensory? It's a skill many of Uzumaki have. Sensors are more sensitive to chakra, and they can sense it with enough training. Though, it requires both big reserves and good chakra control, so many shinobi prefer to train on something else instead of wasting time on it. Why is the sudden interest? Is it because-?"_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__"No- no, I just wanted to learn, because Kairi suddenly froze when- uh, Akame got here, y'know-"_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__“Ashura! Don't say that word!”)_  
  
  
  
Ashura quietly fumbled with his pouch while trying to keep the child from slipping over his shoulder. Taking a hold of the seal he was searching, he lifted it to his lips. Then while holding his breath, he bit his bottom lip with enough force behind it to break the skin.  
  
  
  
Leaving a bloody kiss to his old scrolls were one of his favorite things.  
  
  
  
The sealing paper started to crumble, but instead of falling to the ground, it started floating around him.  
  
  
  
Ashura let out a shaky breath, slowly letting his chakra reach out. The faint glow concealed the crumbles that created a dome around them, and they vanished without leaving a hint of what they did.  
  
  
  
Ashura slowly let the tension bleed out of his form. Even with the chakra signatures coming closed to the area, he couldn't help but feel relaxed for a while.  
  
  
  
His own chakra felt like Uzushio. It was completely foreign to this forest, sticking out with how different yet natural it was. It was like a raging fire, but it never burnt.  
  
  
  
Looking at the girl, he felt a smile tugging his lips. The awed look made her bright yellow eyes shine, and she looked so enchanted that Ashura thought of letting her see a few more tricks, if they got out of this station one piece.  
  
  
  
Then, the chakra signatures jumped down to the ground, right where Ashura and his little unexpected companion were standing before jumping towards the tree.  
  
  
  
Nothing was heard, but Ashura knew that hand signs were exchanged between the ninja squad that stopped. He let his eyes wander on the ninjas. They were obviously tracking something, or rather someone, with the way they had nothing that weighed too much, including an armor, on. Their clothes were made for speed and stealth, and they were looking for clues to see where their prey went.  
  
  
  
A track and capture mission, then.  
  
  
  
Ashura leaned to the side a little, trying to get a better look while not slipping, but the girl let out a gasp, the sound echoing through the forest.  
  
  
  
Ashura swallowed a curse down and stilled.  
  
  
  
The chakra signatures shivered, and got even more closer. The red-head covered the girl's mouth with his empty hand, and prayed to his god for a rescue.  
  
  
  
His seal reflected the eyes of foreigners with the help of his chakra as long as they didn’t move, glowing a faint violet that nobody could see except those in the dome.  
  
  
  
A shinobi got closer to them, passing by the tree they hid on. Another nin -a kunoichi- jumped over them, crouching down on a branch.  
  
  
  
Ashura felt sweat sliding down his face. He couldn't get out uninjured from a fight when there was three tracking ninjas, with a civilian child he needed to protect. He had to be quiet and keep the attention away from them.  
  
  
  
Another drop of sweat traveled down his face, giving him goosebumps. He bit his lip hard, his previous cut on his lips burning with a sharp sting.  
  
  
  
The sweat slid down his neck, and stopped there. He slowed down his breathing even more, holding the girl against his chest with one hand, other closing her mouth tightly while he stood parallel to the ground, chakra boiling in his veins.  
  
  
  
The drop fell down.  
  
  
  
Ashura froze, expecting a blade to his way, an attack or _anything_ , but instead-  
  
  
  
Instead, there was a warm hand supporting his weight as a cloth wiped the sweat off from his neck.  
  
  
  
It was even more scary than a blade descending towards his throat. His muscles strained with the way he held them still, and Ashura _stretched_.  
  
  
  
There was nothing behind him.  
  
  
  
Except, the cloth traveled to his brow and a few soft taps on his waist signed him 'ally' in the national code. Ashura twitched, his hand on the girl tightening, who was hiding her face on his chest, and-  
  
  
  
"Nothing."  
  
  
  
He flinched.  
  
  
  
"This side is clear. I don't see it around here." The voice was grumpy, the one who talked obviously not happy with how the events turned out.  
  
  
  
The kunoichi jumped down too, "I don't sense anything too."  
  
  
  
Another nin, one with twin blades in his hands, walked out of the woods and got closer to the other two. "Where could it be? Who would even let it step into their property?" He sniffed haughtily, "I should've killed that monster while I had the chance!"  
  
  
  
The kunoichi huffed out a laugh, "And what, get executed for treason? That thing may be our _weapon_ , but at the same time, she's the granddaughter of-"  
  
  
  
"I know, I know! The headman and his damned family!"  
  
  
  
"You want to get killed? Stop yelling." The shinobi, who kept quiet while the other two were talking, mumbled. He was crouching down, one hand resting on the ground while he sniffed the air.  
  
  
  
The one with twin blades glared, "What are you even doing anyway? Stop wasting time, we have to find her traces-"  
  
  
  
Kunoichi interrupted him, "He realized what I saw."  
  
  
  
The shinobi got up slowly, looking at the kunoichi and the nin with twin blades, "We didn't lose the traces. At one point, they _disappeared_."  
  
  
  
All of them got quiet, looking at each other. Then the kunoichi lifted her hand up, and with a few fast signs, they jumped back to the way they came from to reorganize with their squad.  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
Minato scowled. This mission was getting... harder.  
  
  
  
He jumped over the branches, carefully avoiding the patrols he sensed. This was fourth one he went by, and it was becoming harder to slip past them.  
  
  
  
And he wasn't even that close to Takigakure yet.  
  
  
  
He wondered what could've happened to make them this paranoid. They weren't that affected from the war. Their borders were under the danger of being used as the battle zone, but the villages didn't specifically attacked them. It was suspicious, as if something important was-  
  
  
  
Missing.  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
Third Raikage let the frown on his face disappear. He had no other choice, it seemed.  
  
  
  
"A."  
  
  
  
His son turned his head to the Raikage, expression stuck between determined and blank, "Yes, Raikage-sama?"  
  
  
  
A took off his Raikage hat, "I have a mission for you."  
  
  
  
The Yondaime Raikage froze, "Raikage-sama..."  
  
  
  
A's lips quirked upwards when he heard his son’s reluctant voice, "No, not anymore. From now on, you're the Yondaime Raikage, my successor. Take this hat, and carry our village to the future."  
  
  
  
The hat took its place on A's head, and the Third took a deep breath.  
  
  
  
It had been a long time.  
  
  
  
All he had to do was stopping the Iwa nin, and that'd be it. At least, he was going to have a good fight.  
  
  
  
"My last orders are kept in the compound. They are sealed, and will be achievable when I do what I have to do." _When I die._  
  
  
  
Somehow, that didn't look scary as much as people said it did. A almost felt-  
  
  
  
Relaxed.  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
Umō jumped down from the roof discreetly.  
  
  
  
"This village has a lot of missing-nin, doesn't it?" Urusai said with a distasteful expression on his face, following his trail behind him.  
  
  
  
Umō let his tail swing around, "Well, it doesn't matter. All we are doing is passing by, and this village has nothing to do with us."  
  
  
  
Urusai eyed him, "Like how you had nothing to do with Master hearing about outsider's chakra?" His voice was wary, and he didn't seem like he was planning to move anytime soon from the part of the roof he perched on.  
  
  
  
Umō stopped, turning his head to look at the other raccoon. “You want to do this now?” He asked with a frown.  
  
  
  
Urusai shrugged, “Dorobo is stealing us food. Master is gone to complete his plan, and we have nothing to do right now. When should we talk about it, Umō?”  
  
  
  
The other raccoon sighed.  
  
  
  
Urusai pushed, “What were you thinking, telling him about _that_? We talked about it, and decided to keep it to ourselves-”  
  
  
  
“Even though we knew that Master deserved to know!” Umō's voice got stronger, “What are we even doing? Indra told us to keep quiet, but what do we even know about him anyway? He was supposed to be dead, yet he is still there. Those who play with death should not be trusted! He even told Master that-”  
  
  
  
“I know!” Urusai got closer to Umō, hands scratching the tiles of the roof, “But- Master is so sad, always grieving, and…” His eyes were full of worry.  
  
  
  
Master was... important, for all of the raccoons. But for Umō- for Umō, Master was everything. He was the one who helped him escape from Kumo, and he could never forget the look Master had while he carried his three brothers' mutated, experimented bodies away from their prison, from that cursed hideout.  
  
  
  
He couldn't forget, when he was the one who had to get Master back to Uzushio while Master cradled his brothers' bodies to his lap while crying and hysterically calling out their name. The half-delirious, crazy look he had when he looked at Umō was something the raccoon never managed to forget properly.  
  
  
  
Yet, here he was, lying to his Master's face without even blinking.  
  
  
  
He just couldn't keep doing it.  
  
  
  
"Indra is someone we can trust, Umō. He told us what to do, I know everything will be alright." Urusai sounded like he was trying to convince himself.  
  
  
  
Umō hesitated, thinking that maybe he should let Urusai lie to himself to feel less guilty, but-  
  
  
  
_("I love him, Umō." Master looked at his hands, face ashamed._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Umō let go of the paper he crinkled in his hands again and again, jumping on his Master's knees. "If you truly love him, why are you sad, Master?"_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Master sniffed, "He's from the main family. I'm not... enough. I cannot bear his children, I cannot give him my bloodline or my wealth, neither can give him the happy, big family he needs."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Umō tenderly patted Master's hands. "You might be a bastard son, but you have the blood of main family all the same."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Master looked horrified, "Umō! Don't say things like that!" He looked around, even though he knew no one was around, "This can be considered as treaso-"_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Umō smiled sadly, "You're an Uzumaki, you'll always be. We accepted you as our summoner, because you're the only one who was enough in this generation. You have the blood of nature spirits running through your veins, the chakra of those who were not humans. And even without those, you are who you are, and even that is enough to consider you as our Master."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Master scrubbed his wet face furiously, little sniffs escaping from him, "U-Umō..."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Umō gently wrapped his tail around Master's arm, "You can love anyone you want, and we'll still be by your side."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Master hiccuped, face as red as his hair. Umō’s smile got bigger, "But you still look ugly anyway, dumbass! Your whole head is red now~"_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Master snorted, face full of tears and snot, red eyes sparking with embarrassment and mirth._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__For Umō, he was worth the trouble he caused anyway.)_  
  
  
  
"Master deserves more than that, Urusai." Umō said with determination burning bright in his heart, love and protectiveness making his eyes shine with intelligence, "He deserved more than those things people granted him too, and I can't let him live what others make from his life once again. Not now. Not ever." He smiled, the same smile he saw on the foxes every time he saw them, "Not when he still has the will to go on."  
  
  
  
Dorobō found them silently staring at each other. Instead of asking what was going on, he threw apples on their heads, urging them to keep walking.  
  
  
  
His little brothers just needed some... reminders, about the life being more than arguments. Master needed reminders for that too, still as stupid as always.  
  
  
  
"Dorobō has walnuts too!"  
  
  
  
After all, Dorobō had a family to protect.  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
Ashura looked down to the unconscious man on the ground, who was wearing a _green spandex_ of all things. Then, he slowly lifted his head, and looked at the girl with such a poisonous chakra that made his senses bleed with horror.  
  
  
  
She had _wings_.  
  
  
  
The girl opened her mouth, but instead of attacking to Ashura just like she had done to the man at the ground the second enemies got out of the standart sensing range, she gave an innocent grin to him with a thumbs-up pose, her bright yellow eyes shining with happiness.  
  
  
  
"Hello! I've saved you from the bad guy! Can I be your friend now?"  
  
  
  
Ashura blinked slowly, too much of a shinobi to let his horror and shock surface on his face, "... what?"  
  
  
  
The girl's grin became smaller, but she still had the glorious spark and mischief vibrating in her eyes, "Bad guy!" She pointed at the man with the green spandex on the ground. "He tried to hug you without permission! I saved you, and you saved me from bad guys too. Friends save each other!"  
  
  
  
The Uzumaki gave her a small smile immediately, one hand slowly inching towards his pouch. He knew that he couldn't fight against that monstrous chakra, but if he could get a second to flee...  
  
  
  
"Friends? Do you have many friends?"  
  
  
  
The happy look in her eyes subdued slightly as she looked down for a second, "I- no. I don't have any friends."  
  
  
  
Her eyes, filled with newly found hope, turned back to him, "But maybe you can be my friend?"  
  
  
  
His hand stopped. This girl, her chakra, her question...  
  
  
  
This was-  
  
  
  
_("I heard that they wanted a jailor to keep the Kyuubi locked." Kama murmured as he took another bite from his bento._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Ashura hummed idly, stealing some rice from his boyfriend's meal, "And why is that? Wasn't Mito-sama doing that?"_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Kama grunted out an agreement as he flicked his chopsticks at Ashura, daring him to stole another piece, "Turns out, she's too old to keep doing that. When I met her- she was tired too."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__A silence, full of grief, filled the heavy air._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__"So... who's going to be the next sacrifice?" The words were too heavy on Ashura’s tongue, too bitter for him to be comfortable with._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Kama played with his food, not eating, "I don't know, but I think it's going to be an Academy student. Probably a child." He looked like he was despairing over that fact. Ashura knew that Kama hated the idea of child soldiers._ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__So he reached to him, hand resting on the tree's bark they sat against, leaving a soft kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry. When you become Uzukage, everything will be alright." He smiled ruefully, "I believe that it will."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__The stress lines around Kama's eyes relaxed, the tense set of his jaw loosening, “I know.” He backed off a little, his loving expression making his green eyes look strangely soft.  "I love you, Ashura."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Ashura bumped his nose to Kama's, "I love you too."_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__The kiss they shared was sweet, carrying none of the sadness, grief or bitterness they felt towards the war. Instead, it was filled with-_ _  
__  
_ _  
__  
__Love.)_

 

“I- yes, I’ll be your friend.” And if his voice was too hoarse to be seen as normal, he couldn't care.

 

Not when the girl’s smile lightened up his whole world.


End file.
